Crimson Castle
by chrysanthemumsies
Summary: "Starting tomorrow, by the end of our trip, you will fall in love with me. Both physically and emotionally you will be a confused mess, by which everything will fall into place." No bad drama: FUN drama! The team in Disney World? I think YES.
1. Hakuna Matata, What a Wonderful Phrase

**Alright, I've been working on this story for a while now, since September or August I believe. I stopped for a while, so I only got to chap. 6, but I'll be working on it a bit more from now on. I rated it K+ because it's mostly funny, thought there WILL be T moments. No M moments, though; not my style. So, without further however-you-spell-adoo, I give you Crimson Castle!**

1

The bullpen was shocked. No, not exactly shocked… more like surprised. Confused. Questioning. Patrick Jane did his job with subtle hues, without too much attention, not standing out for the sake of avoiding suspicion, unless he needed it for a plan of his. In Teresa Lisbons' eyes, being arrogant was what he did best, his skills constantly earning him disbelief, or anger, for that matter, that he soaked up like a sponge. A very irritating sponge.

Jane pranced into the bullpen, seemingly, although the team knew better, oblivious to the wandering stares. Not that the team was innocent, in that matter; they were the holders of said stares, along with the occasional agent cutting through the desks as a shortcut.

He looked roughly the same; Three-piece suit, wild hair (It was at its' longest at the moment), intense eyes, and a trademark yet understandable unpredictable feel around him. Though, he was arguably normal at the moment.

His dress shirt was the only thing really the same. It was blue, the same color as the hi-lites in his eyes, the top button unhitched, revealing his deep collarbone. It brought out the slate colors in his orbs, as well as the darker blues, initiating an ocean color. His jacket, vest and pants were navy, the type that looked like frozen ice, the threads appearing smooth to the touch.

The interesting part was the pinstripes that vertically decorated his jacket and pants. It was a metallic, dark brown and gold mixed, matching the undertones in his hair perfectly. It contrasted against the navy sharply, giving his tanned skin a glow. His vest was plain, closed up with golden buttons. He decorated the ensemble with expensive-looking shoes, a gold, gaudy Rolex and glasses that were metallic gold as well, with a reflective lens within. All in all, his outfit portrayed a wealthy being, the cost of these articles agreeably deep within the thousands.

Lisbon approached him slowly, her arms crossed and lips curved up humorously. "What are you doing?"

He took off his glasses, giving her a 'duh' look, eyebrows raised. His lips ghosted a smile. "Why, I'm sitting on this comfortable couch o' mine."

She paused for a moment, narrowing her eyes. She spoke slowly, on the verge of annoyance. "No, I mean, what's with your get-up?"

"Ah, that." He caught eyes with the team, them trying and failing to pretend to work. They had finished everything a while back- it was the beginning of summer, and they hadn't had a case for days. Jane mused the only important thing they had to do would be to observe their, as in Jane and Lisbons', usually bantering with desperate interest. Although he shouldn't get credit for assuming, no, telling as it is. It was quite obvious to anyone who gave it the right amount of thought. He lied down on the worn leather, interweaving his fingers.

Lisbon was still standing there, waiting. She got impatient, tapping her foot, crossing her arms. He sighed, rolling his head before lazily opening an eye.

"Anything else you need to ask me?"

"Many things, but none without the words 'arrogant' and 'jackass' inside."

"I would assume you are hinting at something?"

"Did you figure that out by yourself?"

He huffed, sitting up and crossing his legs. He started to untie his new shoe. "It hurts that you would insult my intelligence so casually, Lisbon."

"Oh, bullcrap, I've seen you withstand worse."

"No, I mean it, these new shoes are killing me."

He took off his other one and massaged his feet, wincing as his sensitive skin rubbed the wrong way against the unenclosed fabric of his socks.

"Then why did you get them in the first place?"

The shoes were definitely new: shiny, brown, uncomfortable looking. They were standard and smoothly pointed, but his pinched feeling was to be expected.

He shrugged innocently. "Because I could. My financial status has withstood a remarkable increase."

"Did you earn it legally?"

"I think so." His voice held an air of dramatic mystery alongside.

She sighed loudly. "Seriously, Jane, where did you get the money?"

He raised an eyebrow at her. "No offense, dear Lisbon, but I don't see how that is any of your business."

That one made her pause. That didn't sound like him, he told her everything. Something was up. She copied his movement, raising an eyebrow as well. "I'm a law-enforcement official. Whoever earns a massive amount of money and refuses to tell me how, it becomes my business."

He waved his hand at her, a '_whatever_' motion. "No need to be so forceful, I'm just waiting for the right moment."

"Now is the right moment," Lisbon said, her voice rising in the middle.

He sighed as he stood up, walking towards the CBI's small kitchen, socks and all. Lisbon walked with him, following under the arch and leaning against the wall when they arrived. "Well, if you must know…" Jane lowered his voice dramatically, opening the cupboard and taking out a teacup with its' saucer. "… I have inserted a series of numbers into a… competition, and my numbers were correct in this said competition." He paused, rocking onto his heels, looking expectantly at her.

Lisbon crossed her arms, a small smile on her face. "The lottery, Jane?"

He put the water on the stove and opened a drawer, pulling out two packages, deciding on which one to use. He threw one of them back and pulled out a teabag, before turning to Lisbon. He thought for a moment before shrugging and nodding. "I suppose some would call it that."

Her torso leaned closer for effect. "That's what everyone would call it."

"I object, I didn't call it that."

She walked towards the refrigerator, pulling out his milk for him. "I wouldn't count you as everyone."

He took the milk and poured a bit into his cup. "Oh, thank you. And that's a little over the top, Lisbon. No matter how my looks and abilities make it hard to believe, I am human."

"Debatable."

He leaned against the counter, using his arms as support by straightening them behind him, hands on the smooth surface. "Fine, I'm open for a debate."

"And I have a list of complaints in your file to prove it."

"That's where you're wrong. It's not a debate if I tell the truth and people get angry about it."

"You're right, that's called being an damn jerk to grieving people, jackass."

"Wow, easy on the cursing, Lisbon. My ears are bleeding," he said with raised eyebrows, turning the stove off as the water started to boil. The CBI didn't have the traditional teapots that whistled when it was finished. Pity, they were fun, but he was too busy, sleeping or working, to ever buy one himself. "Not every word describing me needs to be ugly."

"I'm sure many people here would disagree."

"No doubt." He flashed her his million-dollar smile, washing her insult away.

She pretended to sigh angrily, her returned smile betraying her. He turned around to tend to his tea. She took the hint and walked out of the room, to her office. She opened the door and it closed smoothly behind her as she approached her desk chair. She was quite tired, but she wouldn't let it get in the way of her… Originally, it would be working, but honestly there was nothing to work on.

She sat for a while, absently looking around the room. She had finished any paperwork or complaints left, cleaned up her office, even bought a few new office supplies for her team. Now, with nothing to do, she was extremely bored.

A sudden ringing filled the room. She picked up the office phone immediately, announcing her name professionally.

"Agent Lisbon."

She listened to her boss' words. She paused for a moment. "What exactly are you saying?" She stood up, the wire connecting to the holder limiting her room.

Jane walked in, tea in hand. She motioned for him to leave, waving to the door. "Uh huh."

He nodded, as if to say '_no problem_', sitting on her couch. She gave him a look, mouthing 'Get out.'

He sipped his tea diligently, whispering, "You won't even know I'm here." She turned her back to him.

"But we did extra days last year, I thought…"

Her voice saddened immediately. "Yes, OK, whatever you say. When do we start?"

She held the phone between her ear and shoulder, grabbing a pen and writing something on her notepad. She was barely controlling her hands from shaking, Jane noticed. His eyes stayed on her as he sipped from his tea every now and then.

"Bye."

She put the phone back in its' holder, pausing for a moment. Then she started to pace in front of her desk.

"You seem grumpy," Jane noted out loud.

She didn't falter. "Apparently, we have extra vacation days this summer."

"My my, what bad news, however will you cope?" Sarcasm dripped from his tone as he effortlessly grasped the burning china containing the hot liquid.

"You be quiet." Lisbon stopped moving, turning to face Jane. Her torso moved slightly as she spoke, a sign of discomfort. "All the big publicity cases happen in the summer. We had extra vacation time last year that I asked for; the team worked hard and needed a break, you remember. Anyways, we missed three big busts that promoted everyone except us. It was hell bringing us up to pace with everyone else when we got back, not to mention those damned looks we got for half a year." She started to pace again. "I'm almost positive that the same will happen this year, and we can't afford that."

"How can you be almost positive?" Jane asked, knowing well that you can't use sympathy against Lisbon, unless you wanted your ears ringing for a week. "That's absurd."

"Jane," she warned, straightening the items on her desk impatiently. "Don't."

"Don't what? Correcting your choice of words is not a crime." She hated how damn calm he sounded, the quietness of his voice making her even more irritated. But, no matter how annoying he was at the moment, it wasn't his fault.

He prepared his reply to a threatening comeback, but instead she sighed through her teeth. "I know, I know. But I can't go against our authorities." She seemed utterly agitated.

"Wait, our authorities?" Jane quirked a crooked smile as he spoke. "You're our authorities. Thus, wouldn't that make our boss the authorities authority? That's confusing."

Lisbon couldn't help but smile back, locking eyes with him lazily. He motioned for her to sit next to him, which she obliged to. She sunk into the cushion and angled herself to Jane. "What do you plan on doing with your time? It's nearly two weeks."

"Nearly two weeks, you say?" He said mysteriously, setting his saucer down on the corner of Lisbons' desk. He crossed his arms loosely, nodding slightly. "I'll find something entertaining to do."

"Oh, really?" She said humorously, raising her eyebrow. "I can see it now, the famous Patrick Jane sipping tea out of his china, his foot stuck in gum at the local movie theatre."

He made an emotionless face at her, which she found hilarious. "The movie theatre is hardly entertaining, it's full of couples attached at the mouth and undistinguishable stains all over scratchy fabric."

She thought for a moment then nodded, too. "Can't say I disagree."

"Mmm," he murmured smoothly, looking off into space. Lisbon slowly grew tired, her eyes wandering to the outside window. It was almost sunset, roughly an hour or two before closing, if no case, that is. She yawned loudly.

"You're tired, go to sleep," Jane said, as if he were telling her to confess, the tone he used with suspects. "I won't tell."

She shook her head slowly. "No, only a little bit left to go, I'm fine."

He didn't seem too exhausted. Though he always appeared tired, his eyes weren't drooping, unlike hers.

His voice became funny, all sing-songy. "It's either now or on the road."

"No, no, I'm up. Coffee." She stood up, getting a hold of herself before taking a step.

A warm hand gently grasped her wrist. "That stuff is going to kill you," Jane said pointedly, dropping his hand when she turned around. He took his cooler teacup from Lisbons' desk, taking a sip. "No wonder you're so short."

He made a face at how cold the liquid is, placing it back on her desk. She crossed her arms before sitting back down. "You never complained about it before."

He shrugged. "You were chugging it down today like water at a marathon, and you use it to cope from your boredom. Which has been coming in large quantities lately."

Usually she wouldn't listen to him, but the coffee was probably cold by now, and her eyesight was blurring in and out of focus too much to be able to heat it up. Maybe a nap for two hours would do her good. She could tell the team about their vacation time tomorrow, it didn't apply for two days.

She sat back down, far away from Jane for room. Before she curled up, she asked, "How much money did you win, anyway?"

"Shh," Jane shushed quietly, laying a hand on her shoulder, gently pushing her down. "It can wait until tomorrow."

"Mmhm," She mumbled, her head resting on one of his legs. Something warm petted her head slowly, someone humming a tune that lulled her deeper into darkness.

He smelled like… rosemary, or sage, a type of spice mixed with a sweet fragrance, like caramel or chocolate. She moved her head a bit, but figured she wasn't comfortable. She moved her head onto the small cushion, which immediately a hand impulsively lifted her head back onto the original pillow. She could feel him pause for a moment; he didn't know why he had returned her, while he couldn't remember deciding to. Then he relaxed, laying a hand gently back onto her head.

She figured it was OK to sleep for a bit.

X

"Still nothing?"

The morning sun was creeping through the bullpen, soft, sleepy voices chattering in the background. Lisbon was exasperated, looking at her team.

The all said their own versions of the word 'no'. She figured now would be a good time to report the news.

"Tomorrow, we have… ah, our vacations begin. Boss wants us on extra time again."

Their faces were a mix of relief and horror. Rigsby recovered first.

"But, last time, when we came back we were in the dust," he complained, a slight bitterness in his tone. The others agreed.

"I know, but-."

"I have an idea."

Jane walked into the middle of their desks, arms behind his back. His outfit was now back to normal, his regular grey with a different, light blue dress shirt and scuffed brown shoes. He rocked a bit on his heels, waiting.

Lisbon gave in. "OK, Jane, what is it?"

"Well, as you may know, Lisbon, I have inserted a series of num-."

"You won the lottery, Jane." Lisbon said irritably, repeating what she just said to him towards the team in a hushed tone.

He turned his gaze on her, leaning his head in for effect, a hint of a smile on his face. "No need to be snippy."

She rolled her eyes and crossed her arms, impatient as always. He continued.

"I have decided that you all need some fun for a change," he added, still in the same position, waiting for any replies.

Lisbon nodded slowly, confused, eyes stuck to him. He was getting at something big, which was always a bad sign. He always meant well, but… it was taking a chance just to listen to him, let alone follow through with any plan of his. She put her weight onto her other leg. He gave her a look that complained about her impatience.

"For that matter, I have concocted a brilliant idea to ease any boredom you all might be feeling during the time off from this hellhole."

"Hey," Lisbon objected. "This hellhole is our job."

"Lisbon, you have to admit, the death that surrounds us is depressing," Jane whined, his both of his eyebrows forming, roughly, an upside-down widened 'v'.

She said nothing, just glaring at him for rendering her, not exactly speechless, but with nothing to add on. His face remained the same. "No more interruptions? OK, thank you."

Her fists clenched as she suppressed the urge to pound him in the face, right at the bridge of his sensitive nose. He caught on to her mood and, while he spoke, subtly shuffled away from her.

"Anyways, I have concluded that, in order to be relatively happy, you all need to spend most of your time during the break in relatively happy place… That undermined the location a bit. This said place is full of magic, wonder, exciteme-."

"Get on with it, Jane," Lisbon whispered angrily, a habit she so often used during cases when he toyed with her, or the suspects.

"You want me to get on with it?" He asked seriously, pointing a finger to her, a small gesture he used when stalling. "All right. I was going for dramatic, but if you, boss, want me to go on with it…" He sent her an amused smile, and, in return, she sent him a warning glare. His smile grew slightly nervous and dimmed, as if to say '_all right then'. _"I am personally, with my newfound wealth, taking you four to the most magical place on Earth." He wasn't full out smiling anymore, really, but a look of wonder passed his face as he recited the last sentence.

Lisbon didn't look the least bit excited as he had hoped. She scoffed at him, but he couldn't miss the slight gleam of interest that glazed her eyes. "Disney World, Jane? I guess it was to be expected, coming from the boy who never grows up."

He chuckled slightly. "Yes, well, I have never been, and this is a good chance to relive things that I have missed." A distant look passed his face, before he smiled enthusiastically. "You know, with more rides and attractions then the beginning. I plan on taking you all to every ride in the book. You see-."

"Wait a minute, who said I'm going?" Lisbon said. Behind her, the team shifted a bit. She turned around, relaying what she meant. "You all can go, but I'd rather stay here then off to the other side of the United States, stuck with him." She jerked her thumb at Jane.

Jane ignored the hurtful jab at him and turned his calculating eyes on, watching Lisbon expectantly. "I assume you have been to Disney World before?"

She looked at him strangely, but he could tell she was mildly disappointed. "No, why?"

He raised an eyebrow. "You knew Disney World is in Florida, while the other franchise, Disney Land, is here in California. Also, knowing you're logical attitude, you would assume I would be you all to the one here, because it's the easiest way." He smiled slightly, the one he used whenever he was right and knew it. "The statement 'the most magical place on earth' is the Disney World slogan, along with 'Where dreams come true', though that can be used for both." He spoke as if everything was so obvious.

"I'm not following."

He sighed loudly, though she knew he was feigning his irritated expression for the sake of appearing more correct. "Disney World is all about 'the most happiest place on Earth', totally different from 'magical', obviously. Only someone who knows about the place can distinguish one from the other correctly." He shrugged.

She shook her head. "I've never gone to Disney World or Land, just leave it at that."

He could sense hidden meaning and wanted to probe more, but he swallowed his urge, just to protect her from any more discomfort. He narrowed his eyes at her thoughtfully before turning to the team.

Their reactions were to be expected, judging from each of their characters. Rigsby was proving himself alike with Jane; he was a child at heart, adventurous and ultimately excited. He was unlike Jane in the fact that he hid these feelings from Lisbon for the sake of not being thought of badly, though his small smile betrayed him. Van Pelt was happy for a new adventure, having growing up in a small town and all, mostly isolated from everywhere else. She had no idea what happiness beheld her, for he knew she would go, her open smile proving it. Cho was the only one with doubt; he was the most difficult to read, so if he had any excitement, it was hidden well. He would go along if Lisbon did; he looked after her judgment to prove what was right and what wasn't. With another thought, Rigsby and van Pelt were likely to be altered if they knew their boss couldn't be won over.

Jane turned back to the raven-haired woman, tilting his head slightly. "It appears it's all up to you."

She was about to flat-out refuse, but then she thought of something. What was she going to be doing during the break, anyways? She had always found comfort in the beginning of the weekend; she was able to relax, order in Chinese or pizza for herself, and not worry about anything. But even then, by Sunday she was a bit ancy for something to do. She studied Jane as she came to a conclusion. His eyes and smile already seemed to hold her answer. She sighed, defeated.

"All right, fine. I suppose some fun would be good for us… That is, if you all want to join." What a stupid question. Jane had to know that they would join, or else he wouldn't have asked. Though she would rather burn alive, mind you then have to be isolated in another state with Patrick Jane, where she had little to no jurisdiction. She concluded that maybe she wanted the team to go, to put a barrier between the two.

"Hell yes!" Rigsby said, a smile breaking his face, before remembering where he was and turning sheepish. He coughed. "I mean, I would love to go."

Van Pelt laughed lightly before inputting: "It will be fun, can't wait!"

All eyes turned to Cho. His face didn't give anything away. "I have nothing else to do, as long as it doesn't take too much time." They all understood why, even though he's too business-like to admit it. Elise had recently gone into surgery for her shoulder, dislocating it doing yoga. It was supposedly a relaxing hobby, Jane had mused humorously, though they were concerned when they figured out the accident by Janes' 'powers'. They already knew Cho visited her on a daily basis.

Jane smiled cheekily, mostly at Lisbon, but spread out around to everyone. He was lost for a moment before popping back. "Oh, I almost forgot, here are your tickets." He handed out a slip of paper to everyone. They were A-1, the first to be called, and first to board the plane. She scoffed at his need for the best.

"Commercial? By the way you're acting, I would've though you had bought yourself a private jet by now."

Jane shrugged, though he knew her question formed into a comment was humorously put. "Not enough time to get everything finished. Too much paperwork to fill out, and I'd have to get my face painted onto the wings, obviously."

"Obviously," she agreed in a laugh, leaning against the vacant desk behind her. It bothered her a bit, speaking about personal things inside the office. Well, not exactly personal, but non-professional. "So, where are we staying?"

"A place called Animal Kingdom Lodge. It would take too long to explain in detail, but, ah…" He made a small motion with his hands, as if he thought they could understand what he meant, like he's able to. "It's supposedly interesting."

Lisbon nodded halfheartedly, checking out her ticket again. It was for the next day, a bit past eleven. She supposed she could pick Jane up, seeing as she almost always did whenever they had a case early, if he was willing to be picked up, of course. Sometimes he just ignored her calls in the morning if they had one, pretending to be sleeping, as if she thought he did. Her team behind her was just listening, a bit in and out, their usual dazed attitude for about an hour in the morning when there's no case. She thought about another thing to ask, her police brain always trying to soak in details, to get a feel for the situation.

"Please, no more questions," Jane said lazily, as if it pained him to do so. How dramatic. He turned away to walk off.

"Wait," Lisbon said, just remembering one important thing she forgot to ask. "How much money did you get, anyways?"

He sighed and rolled his eyes for having to answer again, though he was smiling slightly as he did so, like he was anticipating the question. "Oh, you know…" He said while stretching his back, his voice strained from the small physical pressure. "About ten billion, give or take a dollar."

He gave his winning smile to their awed expressions before he went to tend to a cup of tea.

**Don't worry; romance will begin soon! Oh, and every time you click 'review', we save a dying gorilla in the wild. Every time you don't, we'll kill one (I LOVE YOU IF YOU KNOW WHERE THAT'S FROM!) . Anyway, my rule is that after at least 5 reviews for each chapter, I'll post the next one. Or, if I have 10+ for the second chapter, 15+ for the third chapter and so one, it doesn't matter which chapter it's for, because that'll work, too. If I stop following that rule, it means not enough reviews or I'm working on it. If I'm off for a while, I'll probably come back with an extra chapter or something, but I'm rarely off for a LONG time. So, I guess... happy clickings!**


	2. Kiss the Girl

**5 reviews, hurray! Alright, this is the next installment of the series! SEXYTIME ENSUES HERE BTW. How does Jane really feel about her? Well, if you're wondering why, then STOP READING ME! Go on, get! If you're still reading, STOP IT! OMG, no one LISTENS!**

1 2

"Pick a card, any card."

It was later in the day, past lunch but before the time counted as evening. Jane had laid out 9 cards, in a 3 x 3 square formation. A small smile traced his lips, the one reserved specially for his mind or card tricks, the cons. Rigsby pointed at one.

Jane nodded his head. "Pick it up, memorize it, and then put it back."

He did as he was told, memorizing the three of clubs, then placing it back to its' original spot. Jane smoothly gathered up the cards, straightening them by tapping their edges onto the desk. He held up the small stack, faces to Rigsby. He pointed at the queen of hearts. "Was this your card?"

Rigsby smiled. "No."

Jane held onto the deck and placed the card he showed Rigsby facedown onto the table, moving the next one in line to the back. He repeated the process two more times.

"Now, are you sure these were not your cards?"

Rigsby shook his head, grinning. "No, man. None of them were my cards."

He now had three cards on the table. He gathered them up to create one small stack. He held them between his forefinger and middle finger. Keeping his eyes on Rigsby the whole time, he waved his hand over the cards and quickly slapped his hand onto the deck, scattering two cards with one remaining in his hand; Rigby's' card.

The agent was astonished. "Wow, how did you do that, man?"

Jane shrugged, about to say something when Lisbon interrupted. "Basically, he counted cards and slipped what he knew was yours' onto the table, when you couldn't see the faces." She shrugged, secretly pleased with herself.

Jane narrowed his eyes at her for unveiling his con, while Rigsby smiled wider as he understood. Jane took the deck of cards and said, "Little miss perceptive, are we, hmm? Let's try one out on you."

They sat at the table again, Rigsby and Cho lingering by, van Pelt pretending to find water while instead listening. It took Jane to find all eight kings and queens from the deck before they could start. He set the larger deck aside and focused on the royalty. He spread them out for her to see every one of them.

"Now, without pointing or taking a card, I want you to memorize one of these cards I'm holding." She did so quickly, smiling knowingly at him. His eyes never left her face as he shuffled the cards a certain way, pulling out four and showing them to Lisbon. "Was your card one of these?"

"No."

He repeated the process and held up another four cards, one or two of the cards the same as before. "No."

He once again, lastly, shuffled them in his own special way before holding the last four up at her. She nodded. "Yes."

He smiled and put all the cards together, sorting them into two piles. He paused and explained everything. "Now, these cards are going to be my lie detector." Yes, like he needed one. He smiled wider, as if he could read her thoughts as well. "You may truthfully or untruthfully answer these questions as you like, but just remember, the cards are listening." She snorted and his smile grew dreamy, like before, while he was assorting the cards. She didn't want to admit to herself that she found it immensely appealing.

"Now, was your card a queen or a king?"

Lisbon played it cautious. "King."

He turned over one of the decks and, sure enough, it was one of the king cards. "Very good, Lisbon," Jane commented, as if she had aced a test. She rolled her eyes.

"Now, was the suit black or red?"

Lisbon decided to take the risk. "Black."

He sorted out the other, untouched pile of four cards into two piles, turning over one pile. It was a red queen. "Oh, Lisbon, that hurt. I thought you knew better then to lie to me."

She smiled, but was becoming more interested in the trick. She knew the outcome immediately after watching his moves. He slid over the top card from the last stack to the left, his hand touching the one closest to the red queen. His eyes were on her. "Now, was the suit diamonds…" His voice grew slightly quieter, one side of his mouth curving up into a crooked smile. "Or hearts?"

Lisbon swallowed, hoping she could fool him… or the cards. "Hearts."

He turned over the last card, which was, alas, a diamond. "You're killing me here, Lisbon. If all these facts are correct, that must mean your card was the…" He turned over the last card while she finished for him.

"The king of diamonds."

Her team clapped, making Lisbons' smile turn into a laugh. Jane grinned himself before sliding the cards back into the box.

"I have to say," Lisbon said, standing up. "I'll have to think a bit to understand that one."

"Meh," Jane said back with an unconcerned wave of his hand. "It's all counting. I just do what I'm told, and they work their own magic." He shrugged, getting bottled water from the refrigerator.

The team spread out a bit when they realized the fun's over, walking into the office, exploring the floor, anything, really. Lisbon got herself her own bottled water while studying Jane discretely.

He paused while taking a sip, his eyes trailing to the side, towards Lisbon. "Yes?"

She shrugged. "Nothing, just… thinking."

He angled his body toward hers. "About what?"

"Mostly about the trip."

She was obviously thinking about something else, but he didn't push further. He glanced back at her with a smirk. "All I can say is pack a swimsuit, there's a good pool at the lodge."

Lisbons' cheeks flushed involuntarily, which she cursed herself about. It was just a swimsuit, for goodness sake! But that would mean everyone in a swimsuit, her co-workers, even Jane. And herself. And Jane.

"Duly noted."

Then she walked away, back to her hideout, the office. Instead of sitting at her chair, she sat at the couch, like the night before. Her cheeks, for once, didn't flush at their close proximity. Nothing had happened really; just an innocent gestured of affection by letting her rest her head on his leg, nothing more. She leaned back her head onto the back of the cushion, sighing.

These incidents happened on occasion, and she was pretty sure Jane set them up for his own enjoyment. He would say something in the department that could be inappropriate or flirtatious. Either way, she never knew how to respond, thus making her body respond for her in a flush.

She could honestly say that she has never thought about Jane inappropriately. Unprofessionally, maybe, but definitely not in a way that would cause her to wake up in the morning beside him or her lips becoming swollen. It just wasn't who she is, if she liked someone… Usually it was hopeless, because her attitude scared men away and, frankly, her job meant more to her.

Walter had been the exception, only intrigued by her attraction, or should she say lack of, to him in the beginning. She wasn't going to be serious with a man-whore. She chuckled when she thought of him that way. But she couldn't admit to herself that that night had been a one-time thing; she liked to be cared for instead of the other way around, and that's what he could give her.

But she didn't like Jane; not in the way that would jeopardize her job, that is. She was attracted to him, yes, but many women were, so she wasn't at fault. No one was immune to his charm whenever he blasted it onto them helplessly. But she would never, for the sake of her well being, fall for Patrick Jane. It just wouldn't happen. He didn't like her that way, she was sure, just cared deeply for her, like she does him. She had her protectiveness left over for her brothers, and she would try to protect him, always. His words that he used often about how he wouldn't let her get hurt, his relief whenever she survived the bomb, becoming the hero instead; he probably cared for her more then she could think, given his past. She could understand how he couldn't get close to people, and she knew he was hiding things from her, but he got as close as he could manage, which warmed her heart.

"Lisbon."

She turned her head immediately, towards Jane. He was standing in the doorway, seeming a little out of breath. She furrowed her eyebrows and stood up, tilting her head.

"Is something wrong?"

"Uh… No," Jane said, uncertainly, shaking his head. "No, nothing's wrong."

"Then why-."

"Please, no questions," he said, louder then usual, closing his eyes. If she didn't know better, she would think he was angry with her. "I-I can't… No questions."

Lisbon acted calm. "OK, no more questions. Now tell me, what's going on."

He closed the door, the blinds already narrowed. He took a somewhat shaky step towards her. She immediately became even more concerned. "Jane, do you need to sit down?"

He shook his head, and a sudden confidence seemed to rush over him. A wild glint appeared in his eyes and, before she could understand what was going on, he rushed over to where she was standing and kissed her.

His lips were warm, slow, and powerful. They captured hers with a melting element that made her knees want to buckle. But they didn't, instead stood as straight as a board; eyes open wide, arms dangling weakly at her sides. Her thoughts were too jumbled to push him away, to even think about what was going on. She could only watch helplessly as he attacked her mouth at a slow rate while his lips morphed into hers' so immensely that she thought they were going to stick together.

He wrapped one arm around her waist, the other behind her neck. She still wouldn't move, and that seemed to make him a bit angry. He bowed her closer, heatedly, though he never closed his eyes. They watched hers', daringly, willing her to respond. She didn't, though, her lips tight; his tongue tried to protrude, but that was just a line he couldn't, -no, _wouldn't_-, cross. After a while, he started to let off.

When he pulled away, finally, he was breathing as hard as she was. His eyes were blue fire, a smoldering orb that crashed like a restless ocean. Her eyes were shocked, its' jade green hue the opposite of his; crackling dimly like a light bulb, airily cooling into a green, frozen lake. She was too stunned to think about what she was going to next, already knowing that he had caused her insomnia for the night.

For a split second, he touched his forehead to hers, the tips of his lips touching hers tauntingly, before he disappeared, the door swinging as his slightly flushed body made its way down the hall. She shakily glanced at the time. From the time she entered her office as an escape from Jane to the time he left, she had thought about whatever for an hour. The sun was lower in the sky, but nowhere near sunset. Her mind was already contemplating quickly on what just occurred.

Why did Jane always have to screw things up?

She wasn't even going to contemplate if she were still to go to Disney or not, she already knew the answer. Yes.

For mainly two reasons, actually. The first; she wouldn't let Jane think she runs away from things. He already knew she didn't, so if she started now, she would seem weak, which would be avoided at all costs. Secondly, she always wanted to go. When she was younger, her brothers and her researched all about it, even made all the money for the cost themselves. Her father wasted it all away in one day, which had scarred her for life. Literally, when he was finished. It was a bit of a sore subject for her, which was also true in literal sense. She chose to sit back on the couch, head in hands, deep in thought.

Yes, she would go. It wasn't necessarily true that he would kiss her again, to be honest. Not that she disliked him, it was just… He was Jane. Jane avoided physical contact, maybe a hug or a touch every now and then, sometimes a kiss on the cheek. What just happened was unbelievable, and she really didn't know how to deal with it.

She wasn't very good with a poker face, at least around the team, that is. So she chose to stay in her office until closing time, and Jane seemed to oblige. She heard him talk with the team, and laugh, while she pretended to do something on the computer. The door was still open, where Jane had left it. The team never shot a strange look to her office, look for her; they were too busy entertaining themselves. She took comfort in the fact.

It soon grew dark outside, and before she knew it, she was one of the last people left in the office. She had been dozing, cheeks flushed, eyes lazily stuck onto her computers' screensaver. It felt nice not to think about anything, to forget about Jane for a while. She wouldn't have time to do that for the next week or so.

Tiredly, she gathered her things and made her way to her car. Her nerves were still jumpy from the kiss, her legs still weak from the pure willpower she used to keep them from collapsing. Her lips weren't swollen; she hadn't reacted back to him, didn't let him win, in a strange sort of way. She started the ignition and backed up, exiting through the gate and zooming off to her apartment.

She stopped at a red light and glanced at her rearview mirror as she waited. A blue Citroen sat behind her, the engine revving a bit when she caught eyes with the driver. She narrowed her eyes at Jane, mouthing 'No'.

'Yes'. His grin was more like a 'You can't stop me' then an 'I kissed you today, so I'm going to do it again.' She didn't want to take the risk, though. He was smileier then before, definitely not serious as he initiated a chase-down. He was so irritatingly unpredictable.

Lisbon zoomed off when the light turned green, going straight rather then turning. She made a series of turns; right, right, left, u-turn, straight, and finally a right again, which is roughly around where she started. He was stuck to the back of her car like glue.

"Dammit," she moaned, clenching the steering wheel. After avoiding him all day, she counted on actually getting sleep tonight. He seemed to have other plans, to make himself known once more. She pulled into the parking lot of an abandoned school, tensely waiting in her car, doors locked. Moments later he knocked on her window, clasping his hands behind his back, rocking on his heels with a tight smile. She rolled down her window.

"May I help you?"

"Eh… Yes," he said nervously, shining his best blue eyes on her that usually makes her want to hug him like a sad puppy. "May I join you?"

She furrowed her eyebrows, contemplating on what to do. On one note, she could stomp on the gas pedal and leave him in the dust. On the other hand… He looked so damn fragile, like he would break if she zoomed off. She gave up and motioned to the passenger seat, unlocking the doors.

He immediately brightened up, very happy on getting what he wanted, like on most occasions. "Thank you."

He walked around the car, adding a beat in Lisbons' heart every time he took a step. She hated the effect he had on her whenever he tried to, or not tried to, like in this matter. He swiftly slid through the door, not meeting her gaze while he took his time to click on his seatbelt.

Lisbon raised an eyebrow, phasing normality. "Going somewhere?"

"Ah, how about the diner?" He had a hesitant feel around him, like he was afraid she would reject him. His calculating eyes watched her eyes, her mouth, and her rigid body language.

She shrugged. "Sure."

She pulled out of the parking lot, while Jane fiddled with the radio so a quiet tune played. The sat in a metaphorical silence for a while, Jane finding it awkward and Lisbon finding it peaceful. He looked at her expectantly.

"How did you manage to fit a giant elephant into the car?" Jane asked, amused.

Lisbons' grip tightened on the steering wheel. "How else should I act?" Her glare was aimed at whatever poor car happened to be on the road in front of her, away from Janes' stare.

He paused. "Well, I suppose this way is… easier for you." She heard the crinkle of his clothes has he used slight movements of his hand to get the point across. "Talking to me would cause an unnecessary debate that you don't have the quick mind for, not at this hour."

She could practically hear him smirk. "I should kiss you more often, Lisbon. Now I don't have to listen to your useless arguments." His finger traced her jaw gently. "No offense, of course. I find how you think you can win against me very… cute."

She blushed, but not before she rubbed her jawbone against her shoulder, making him pull his hand back. "Do that again, and I shoot you!"

He held his hands up in surrender. "Alright, alright." He paused for a moment, than seemed to open the glove box, pushing pass papers thoughtfully. "I know you have at least 3 guns in the car," he said, sending her a disapproving look. "You aren't one to hide things in the obvious places, you're much too smart." He pondered around her backseat, as far as his seatbelt-restrained arm let him. "I'm always up for a good scavenger hunt, any hints?"

She smiled innocently. "Don't shift in your seat too much, I don't remember ever putting the safety on."

That shut him up for the rest of the trip.

XX

The diner was near empty, the trademark flickering, neon sign greeting them as they entered. Jane loved this place for their eggs, how well they were cooked. He claimed they judged how well the rest of the food was, and Lisbon was far from not believing him. It's kind of why they hired him.

Lisbon narrowed her eyes at Jane, not the first time she wondered if he could read her mind. '_Not to judge eggs,_' she thought, somewhat embarrassed that she actually thought a statement. _'To judge people.'_

He slid her eyes to her, smiling knowingly. Or, at least, her paranoid mind found it knowingly. She shivered.

"Cold?" He asked, leading her to an empty booth.

She shook her head, though the air conditioner _was _turned up for summer in the enclosed diner. And she had taken off her jacket immediately when she felt the dry heat before getting in her car.

He didn't seem to believe her, starting to shrug off his jacket as she slid into the booth. She shook her head. "No, Jane, I'll be fine."

Jane quirked a smile with an eyebrow raised, though it held a suggestive air. "If you don't want the fabric, _I _could always heat you up."

"Toss me the damn jacket."

His face just spelled _'know it all_', with his stupid keen eyes and stupid amused hint of a smile. He gave her the jacket before sitting across from her, watching her put it across her shoulders, his long sleeves dangling beside her. It made her shoulders seem so broad, like his. Lisbons' face showed her discomfort, but it wasn't as if he didn't enjoy it; it was immensely entertaining to watch her squirm under his stare.

They already knew what they wanted; being here a few times, they quickly chose favorites. He chose the simply things, like toast and eggs, ordering their signature raspberry tea along with hash browns. Lisbon was all meat, having bacon, sausage, and ham, along with coffee. It all basically gave her the strength she needed, and had, for that matter.

The waitress, a 20-year-old daddies girl with black ringlets, came to the booth. She had the trademark beauty mark, slim waist and accent of a diner diva, and seemed very interested in Jane, never appearing to look at Lisbon once for that matter. It sent a surge of something into her stomach that made her confused, her hands clenching beneath the jacket. "May I take your order?"

He soaked up the attention, growing a large smile. "Yes, I would like to have a raspberry tea, milk in first. My dear friend here would like a decaf coffee, with a side of cream." He knew her well.

The waitress batted her eyelashes flirtatiously, biting her lip as she wrote down their order. "Coming right up."

"Thank you," Jane said meaningfully, catching her stare. The woman's cheeks flushed, but she quickly recovered and walked away suggestively, swinging her hips. Lisbon tilted her head at him, narrowing her eyes thoughtfully. "Does that ever get tiring?"

"Hmm?" Jane hummed in question, looking up innocently from his menu. She rolled her eyes.

"Oh, you know, the usual. Turning women into a puddle with one look."

"You seem to know the feeling in detail," Jane commented, clasping his hands together on the table. "Is that the effect I have on you?"

She swallowed uncertainly, her words shaky as she avoided his gaze. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Are you sure?" His eyes burned her lids.

"Absolutely."

"No."

Her questioning mixed with angry eyes found his. "You can't-."

"You misunderstood," Jane said quickly, his voice unnaturally smooth like velvet, his head slowly shaking. "I mean that it never gets tiring, being able to 'melt women into a puddle', as you so distinctly put it." She sent him a glare, which he chuckled lowly at. Then he shrugged. "I've always had a charm, I learned about it when I was 16 and it threw over the audience instantly." Lisbon instantly knew what he was talking about. The carnival he worked at as a child.

He didn't go further onto the topic. He never talked about his past, for obvious reasons, and she didn't probe him. He was looking down at his hands, twiddling his thumbs and puckering his lips for a split second every now and then, as if to say '_oh well_'. She brushed her hand against his, only for a moment so he wouldn't get the wrong idea. His hand whipped out and grasped hers' before she could pull away, his eyes shining mischievously. Lisbon gulped.

He was bringing her hand up to his face when he suddenly released, dropping her hand like it were burning. She found that this strange feeling arose once more, in the pit of her heart when she learned he did so for the sake of the waitress. Not that she wanted him to repeat his actions, of course.

The woman set the drinks down slowly, bending over so he could get a good look at her cleavage. He seemed oblivious to them, though his face did moisten up a bit, which Lisbon stifled a chuckle at. He was obviously not used to women being as forward to him as he was to them, and Lisbon was glad he got a taste of his own medicine.

"What would like to eat?" She asked seductively, pen and pad in hand.

He paused nervously for a moment, glancing at the menu. Finally, he sighed and slapped it down. "Miss, usually I'm a gentleman, but you need to resolve these issues with your mother before you have sex with all the men in the state of California."

Lisbon gasped quietly, while the woman mechanically straightened up, immediately furious. "Excuse me?"

"You heard me," Jane said in a rebuttal, shifting so he could fully meet her eyes. "I'm guessing your father walked out of the picture… No, a divorce, not a hit-and-run." He seemed to be dead on, by the looks of it. Lisbons' foot tapped on his' in a warning. He didn't falter. "You decided it was her fault, being the rough and tough 'princess' your daddy makes you out to be, while being the trademark roll-around girl on the side." He gave her his 'I-know-I'm-right' smile.

"H-How do you know all of this," The woman sputtered, flustered.

"That's enough, Jane," Lisbon hissed through her teeth, as if to pull him out of his observing trance. He obliged and, with a more positive air for all three, shrugged. "I know people. Make amends with your mother; she'll live longer then you're father will." He looked closer, his eyes brightening up. "You know it, too."

The woman paused, dazed for a moment. Lisbon was expecting him to earn a slap to the face, but it turned out as to her enthusiastically hugging Jane. "Thank you," she whispered, before stiffly standing up once more. She wasn't too smart, Lisbon mused, as to being won over by only a taste of the Jane experience. Though it was still nice of the jackass to do such an honestly good thing. The woman's' words now held a warmer air, to both of them. "Sorry for before. Now, what do y'all want to eat?"

Jane grinned widely, while Lisbon smiled also, shocked. They ordered and put the menus back onto the rack on their table. Then Lisbon turned her smile onto Jane. He was sipping at his tea. His found her observing him, and he expectantly jerked his head a bit, a small question.

She shook her head. "Just… That was a real nice thing you did."

He wasn't far from laughing out loud. "I do that all the time, and even you thought it was going to become painful for me like it usually is." His foot tapped hers' lightly, a reminder. "Things rarely turn out as good as they do now, at least for the person themselves, anyway."

"Oh, shut up. You did something nice purposely and you know it."

He became sheepish, looking down with a small smile. "Yes, I suppose I did."

She chuckled at how he acted, knowing that he was faking it. No, Patrick Jane never got sheepish, he got arrogant. This was just another way of proving his achievement, in a way that made him look cute and wonderful to others, but more annoying to her. It was amazing what techniques his mind could conjure up, in ways that made him look even better then his true intentions.

"I need to get to the, ah, point here."

Her eyes snapped away from the car she was looking at outside the window to him. She raised an eyebrow. "And what is that?"

He was slowly drumming his fingers onto the table, staring at them quietly. "You think I'm afraid of commitment from my late wife." His eyes met hers with the smoldering passion he had from before, in her office. "That could be half right, with other women, that is. No one could love my faults, how I could irritate the hell out of someone, how I knew how to make people tick at an astounding rate." Lisbon was too frozen to nod alongside what he listed, to shut him up, to do anything really. "I've figured out what type of man I can be, and if you refuse me, I'll be forced to… wake him up." He didn't seem nervous or truly shy, but amused. She was as confused as hell, mostly because she didn't know _why _she was.

"So…" Jane started, grabbing her hand with a nonchalant tone. "Do you love me?"

She tensed up, and he could feel it in his grasp. She didn't seem to have the strength to pull it away, her body shivering. "No."

In a way, he seemed… pleased. She already knew that her rejection was to be expected and his ultimate plan was built around it. "Alright then."

He dropped her hand and, right when she thought she was free, he caught her gaze with an iron hold. "Starting tomorrow, by the end of our trip, you will fall in love with me." He sounded as if he were commenting on the weather; a misguided yet carefully intended air of unimportance clouding his words. "Both physically and emotionally you will be a confused mess, by which everything will fall into place." His strategic tone was unnerving. Her eyes were wide, quite the opposite from her clenched fists.

If she were to survive this trip, she needed more then just back up.

She needed the whole damn FBI.

**You know the drill; when I get 10 or more reviews, another chapter comes in! Thank you to all the people who reviewed! If you really like it, favorite it! I'm just sayin'!**


	3. Heigh Ho, Heigh Ho

**Okay, I see 10 reviews! And HAPPY NEW YEAR! 2012! Anywho, this chapter is... I can't really review my own chapters without calling them a piece of crap. Epcot starts in the same day as 'today' in the story, but is really in Chapter 5. I must warn you; For the sake of not having a story with 100+ chapters, I'll put all the theme parks into ONE chapter, each. Unless something important happens, which (I'm only saying this to keep you reading hopefully!) WILL happen at Hollywood Studios. Which will be either Chapter 7, Chapter 8, or Chapter 9. Most likely Chapter 8. Well, whatever happens, here is Chapter 3!**

****1 2 3

Lisbon groaned, refusing to open her eyes. It was morning, but it wasn't just any morning. It was the morning after the worse day of her life, the day Patrick Jane became an even bigger nuisance then before. She rolled her head, away from the crown of a sunrise glowing through her window.

Last night, after that… incident, she hadn't really gained much of an appetite. Jane only watched her expectantly with a smile as he ate. She had taken off his jacket, threw it in his face, and refused to take a sip of coffee. And he regarded the whole thing with _humor_. Damn him.

Afterwards, she was tempted to leave his ass at the diner. But, since she was a 'law enforcement official', that would be frowned upon, and she was supposed to be the role model here. She was even more tempted to floor it after he told her said statement. But she grudgingly unlocked the doors and drove him back to the parking lot, to his car. He waved good-bye and got into his vehicle, by which she waited until he left before leaving herself.

He didn't touch her for the rest of the night. He didn't look at her with an intensity that, to be honest, scared her a little. He didn't talk seductively; maybe flirtatiously, yes, but that was what their usual banter was made up of. Really, after his announcement, he acted like his usual self.

_Gah_, she internally groaned. _What he said. A badge can't help me now._

She had been restless the night before, with all of her worrying. Her hair was soft yet tangled, her hands stretched up above her, brushing the bedpost. The night had been hot; instead of an oversized jersey, she wore a tank top and some clothe shorts. She figured, the tighter it was, the less body heat could counter-attack her. Her feet were tangled with the covers she had kicked, and her comforter was already off the bed. There was only so much a fan could do.

"Good morning."

An irritatingly familiar, amused voice tickled her spine, and she felt someone pull her back to his chest, his chiseled teeth gently nibbling on her ear. Her muscles flexed at the intruder, a hiss whispering angrily through her teeth.

Without warning she elbowed him in the stomach, rolled out of bed and fumbled for the gun under her mattress. She finally came to her senses and realized whom it was.

She aimed it at Jane on instinct. "What… the hell… are you doing… in my bed?"

His face was curled into a painful wince, his hand grasping his side. It wasn't broken, because he wasn't in enough pain to restrain from saying: "Most people would ask what I'm doing in their house, you violent woman! Now, would you _please _stop waving that gun around?"

She slowly set her weapon down on the nightstand, and then realized what she was wearing. Her cheeks betrayed her and she swiftly turned around.

Jane wasn't far from growling, mostly from pain. "Oh please, Lisbon, I've been watching you sleep for the past two hours. No need to be sheepish."

She gasped, turning around instantly. "You've been watching me sleep? Are you insane?"

"Yes," He answered without hesitation, wincing as he sat up. He took off his jacket and vest off, unbuttoning his dress shirt. It was apparently taking too long, so he just threw it over his head and walked towards Lisbons' bathroom. To think, he had the nerve!

He studied his side in reflection, the skin covering the rib red and darkening by the second. He turned to Lisbon, his voice an angry murmur. "You're going to be the death of me one day, you know."

Lisbon was going to reply angrily, but her eyes were briefly trapped upon his naked torso. It was like it wasn't laid out correctly, not proportional in a way, but definitely not unattractive. His shoulders and chest were defined, bold. They were the broadest part of him, though you couldn't fully see his muscles, it was obvious they were there. His stomach was hard, also, but he didn't have any abs. Just a slim block of muscle, his ribs slightly seen, which was why he was probably more sensitive then others in that area. He didn't have much hair on his chest, if any, his collarbone deeper then she's seen. It didn't seem as though he had any fat on him, and Lisbon had to admit he looked handsome, his shoulders curved and wider then she had originally thought. Not that she's ever thought of him shirtless, of course not.

Jane raised a brow at her, a hand covering his hurt rib. He switched to the opposite of a person in pain in an instant. "Are you going to keep staring at my chest, or help me?"

Lisbon was a bit pleased that he seemed slightly nervous when he spoke, but she crossed her arms angrily anyway. "You don't deserve any help, you… you dumbass!" She walked up to him and jabbed a finger at his, -firm, she might add- chest. "You had no right to enter my house, or climb into my bed, for that matter."

"I was being a concerned citizen, showing you how easy a lock can be picked," he bantered back stubbornly. "Also, I didn't climb into your bed. I simply laid on top of the covers, which your feet profusely hated, for that matter." His eyes suddenly dimmed down a bit, watching her fume with a ghost of a smile. "I had every right to arrive uninvited, you _are _mine, remember?"

"Oh, really?" She asked sarcastically, nodding as if she understood. "I don't remember agreeing to this arrangement."

He shrugged. "Oh, you know, just think of yourself as a slave, me being the lucky master. You don't see a master let his slave go off with whomever she wishes. Our relationship is roughly the same way." His eyes were taunting her, an annoying smirk covering his features. "No matter how much you want to escape."

"Gah!" Lisbon yelled inaudibly, flustered. "Why can't you just give it up, I don't love you!"

"You will."

"Let me think about it for a moment," she paused for a small second. "No, I don't think I will."

"Lisbon," he sighed, sitting back down on her bed. "The outcome of whatever happens will be ultimately decided by me, I'm almost positive about it."

"'How can you be almost positive?'" Lisbon asked mockingly, copying Janes' words from the other day in his low, somewhat accented voice. "'That's absurd.'"

"Ah, I thought you'd catch that," Jane said dreamily, lying back onto the bed. His posture was trademarked from the CBI; intertwined fingers, crossed ankles, overall air of peace. He closed his eyes and, without moving, asked her, "Care to join me?"

"Ah, no," Lisbon said, somewhat shocked that he would believe she would. "I'm going to take a shower, bang my head against the wall a few times, and die knowing I did so for a good cause."

"Mmhm," Jane said tiredly, grinning without opening his eyes or turning his head. She held her fist up at him threateningly before walking off into the bathroom.

_I hope, _Jane thought, rolling over so he could smell her green apple shampoo etched into the pillows with a casual air. _She knows how persuasive I can be._

XXX

After showering, brushing, changing, packing, cleaning, and eating breakfast, Lisbon found that Jane was _still _there. He just sat and watched her fret around, looking through her stack of books with mild interest. She was happy he returned his clothes onto himself so she could think clearly again, though. Every now and then she would pause, peak into the living room, find that he's still there, and groan, by which Jane would reply with an innocent smile. The bastard.

"Can I listen to your iPod?" Jane called to her.

"Don't look through my things, you inconsiderate jackass!" She shouted back irritably.

They had repeated this over and over again, him innocently asking her about her possessions by which she would rebuttal back angrily about how nosy he was. It soon became the rhythm of the apartment, until nine o'clock that is.

"Jane, let's go."

"Hmm?" He asked distractedly, before looking up to her. He had been staring at her green nano on the coffee table with an uncertain question on his face, as if it would run away. "Ah, yes, of course."

She took her iPod and wrapped her white earphones around her finger, taking her suitcase. She had tied her hair back, her messy waved locks that escaped capture framing her small face cutely. Jane was overall happy that he didn't have to restrain himself around her anymore, especially when she looked like this, her violet t-shirt profoundly emphasizing the intense color of eyes. He swung an arm around her shoulder, his arms the perfect length to hang around her petite frame, while not having to lean down. It was overall convenient.

Lisbon didn't honestly mind, mostly because his close proximity was roughly the same as before, until he had screwed things up. Though she did make a point of her anger at him by, switching her rolling suitcase to the side furthest to him, hanging her carry-on bag over her shoulder in between them, making it difficult for him to hold onto her. He raised an eyebrow at her sly expression before dropping his arm to his side.

He walked over to her car. "Aren't you going in your car?" Lisbon asked lightly, nodding her head to his Citroen. "You'll have to drive it back to your place after we get back if you don't."

He shook his head. "Eh, no, it's silly to go to the same place, from the same departure point in two different cars." He opened the back for her to load her suitcase into while he ran over to his car for his. He paused for a moment in the street and, turning back, he couldn't help himself but to shout: "Besides, when we get back, I'll see to it that you'll find my car to be… conveniently placed."

"No, I won't!" She replied, light and sing-songy with a tinge of annoyance. His chuckle was heard over the dry wind.

She didn't close the trunk and climbed into the drivers' seat, brushing off her shirt. Thinking of Jane, he'd want to make pointless small talk, annoying inappropriate comments and lingering glances that she couldn't _not _ignore, what with the cramped nature of the car. She hooked the earplugs into her ears, searching a song. She never really cared about classic instruments, like the guitar, piano, or even a physical drum set. Other then Spice Girls, that is, though Jane would never find out she liked them anyway.

No, she liked the techno, with a good beat and computer-generated music, occasionally with audio-enhanced voices. Before she turned on one, however, Jane appeared out of nowhere and took one out of her ear.

"You're not getting out of a conversation with me, Lisbon."

"Can you refrain from irritating me for, like, a day and make me happy for once?" She ripped out the other one and disconnected it, wrapping the wire around her finger and dropping the loop into her cup holder.

"Will you accept a reasonable car ride instead?" He flashed her a convincing smile. "A whole day without seeing you blush or fume like a kitten is nigh impossible, my dear."

"A kitten? Really?" She started the car and pulled out of the lot. "If I recall, my job requires one to be a bit more intimidating then a fur ball."

He shrugged. "Anything with a gun is considered intimidating."

She tried to stay bitterly humorous and scoff, but it turned into a small giggle instead. "True, true."

He paused for a moment, watching her. "See, I made you laugh."

She didn't know how to respond with wit to that one, so she just settled with, "Yeah."

He smiled, pleased with himself. Maybe for making her laugh after how angry she was with him. She felt a warmth in her heart, but then recovered.

"This is getting ridiculous," Lisbon said. "Have you planned any dining reservations?"

"Of course."

She nodded her head. "Are we doing anything when we get there today?"

"Eh, yes. There's a certain bus that picks you up from the airport to drive you to the hotel, but later on tonight I made reservations for the Garden Grill." He ran a hand through his curls, which he sometimes did to tame them. "It's in a building called The Land, it's home to a few rides. The restaurant is on the second floor and it revolves slowly, where you can get a good scene of the boat ride below it. You get to it through Epcot."

Lisbon found it weird to hear him explain something _other _then a plan, though found herself silly for thinking so. "Interesting. Are we doing other rides while we're there?"

"Well, we're returning to Epcot once more while we're in Orlando, for a whole day," Jane said slowly, which Lisbon immediately caught on to. Though they could do everything another day, the thought of stepping foot on a Disney attraction _that night _was riveting, to say the least.

Jane gently grabbed her elbow and applied pressure, straightened her arm and hand into his now waiting one. He pressed it up to his mouth. "We could do that boat ride, if you want." It was hard for her to think while he ran his lips over her fingers, her wrist. She found it very difficult to keep her eyes on the road, and she did so without ease. "I just don't want to let you see too much of Disney… My need to see the look of wonder when you approach the magic head-on is too selfish to withstand." She hated it when he talked old-fashioned liked that, his grammar only enhancing his appeal. That sneaky bastard.

She yanked her hand away. "What happened to not annoying me in the car ride?" She asked, blushing.

"You're flustered, Lisbon." Jane said in his loud '_confess because I know I'm right_' voice, looking out the window without meeting her eyes. "Not annoyed."

"Well, _I_ find it annoying," Lisbon said stubbornly, slowly edging through minor traffic. They had plenty of time; the flight was a quarter past eleven, while this traffic would add to the time getting there to about an hour. She slumped into her seat at a red light.

"If you say so," Jane murmured, eyes watching the cars going the other way pass. Then he turned to her, his face an innocent question. "Hey, why is it that you don't love me?"

She tensed up, and almost forgot to stomp the pedal when the light turned green. She did, though, and raced off to the highway. She pretended she couldn't feel his eyes on her. "Because."

The air shifted, and she knew he was smirking. "Because what?"

She clenched her teeth thoughtfully, narrowing her eyes as if she was wincing. "Well… I…"

She couldn't think of an answer.

Why didn't she love him? She blamed it on who he was; Patrick Jane, widowed and childless by a brute horror, years of psychological help from a panic attack. They had been in the friend zone hard, not that they didn't like it otherwise. Even though she didn't like him _that _way, it made her disappointed a little to know that, if there were a relationship, it would be made from _his _will, hers' flimsy in comparison. Deep in her mind, she had no doubt that he could make her love him, but her stubborn side ignored it fiercely.

They were as different from each other day and night, physically and mentally. He was built like a Greek statue, chiseled to perfection in the suit of a warrior. She was a nymph, petite with an indistinguishable beauty with a dress made of golden leaves. The figures' obvious personalities were switched, though; he was the troublemaker, mischievous with a knack of making things difficult. She was the strength, a protector that would do anything to make sure her people were all right. They both had secret sides, but both knew about them. She was someone she knew he trusted, but she didn't think she could him. Not yet.

"I can't trust you," Lisbon said half-heartedly. She cut him off before he could reply. "It goes far beyond the workplace, Jane, though that is part of the problem." She took a deep breath, hitting 60 in the little-to-no-car road. "You're just a dam waiting to break, and I can't love that."

He didn't reply for a moment, watching his hands. For once he was truly speechless, but not in shock. He took a shaky breath. "I know I'm selfish for asking you to. And I can't change." His eyebrows were furrowed in concentration, as if to keep from yelling. "I will find Red John, and I will do what it takes, without consideration to what you may feel."

She had stopped arguing about how he couldn't by now, just hoping to dear God that the CBI would find the bastard before him. "You see, that's a major reason. I'm not a toy to play with until the time comes, my feelings are important."

"I know they are," Jane said without a thought. He paused for a moment, and she wanted to hug him for the pain he was feeling, like she always wanted to. She held out her hand shakily to him, a peace offering. It was a risk to take, though she knew he would understand it was meant for comfort. He took it as if it were made out of glass. "I'm the broken one here, not you. I'm, eh… aiming for his death with no thought if I live or not." He intertwined his fingers with hers, though she didn't really reply with any returned pressure. "If my life will actually be short-lived, I want to make the best of it." He raised her hand to his mouth softly, almost acting as a muzzle with his eyes closed tightly, restraining any intruding tears. It was sweeter then before, without a cruel, or as she had thought of it, air to it.

"I'm sorry, Jane." Lisbon said hesitantly, the bumpy road jerking her mind straight. "I don't love you."

"You will," he said angrily against her skin. She realized how much this wasn't a game to him, and how much he seemed to need her. "You do. You just don't know it yet."

He wasn't crying, though his eyes were watery, threatening to tip over. She had to get her hand back, though she didn't want to see what would happen if she removed it, if his face would distort in any way. She decided to get him with humor, speaking with the same nonchalance as him. "Cheer up."

"Why?" He asked cautiously. She knew he was instantly playing along; the normal Jane wouldn't loathe in self-pity, at least not in this manner. He would reply with wit.

"Uh, because it's better to be happy then sad?"

He smiled against her hand. It was from long ago; she was still depressed about Bosco's death, as she had been for a month or two then. He had walked in, given her a little dance that she watched with a '_How'd you get so crazy_' confusion. Then they had the same conversation.

He loosened his hold and she brought her hand back onto the steering wheel, the flesh a bit red on top from being covered for so long. She didn't know whether to be frustrated, strong, or willing; she settled with confused, all her feelings mixed together, as if her mind were a bowl. She was just beginning to see the airport ahead in the distance.

"What are you thinking?" Jane murmured, himself confused for not being able to read her like usual.

"I'm not… I mean," Lisbon started, a crease slightly bent in between her brows. "Whenever it comes to you, especially acting like this…" She was blushing, her eyes flickering to him whenever she could. "I can't think straight."

He nodded thoughtfully. "I'm at fault for that, really," he said, sheepishly smiling. "I make sure you can't, it levels the playing field."

"You son of a-." She began angrily, and then cut herself off when she processed his words. "Wait, you can't think when you're around me?"

He chuckled. "Eh… Obviously I can, but the problem is when you're _not _there." He seemed a bit nervous, but it could be an act. His childish phase was somewhat appealing. "You're like the coffee you indulge profoundly itself; it keeps me awake, alert even."

She turned off toward the airport. "Really?"

He raised an eyebrow. "Do you really think I sleep on that couch in the CBI?"

She snorted. "No."

"Well, there you go." He paused briefly before adding, "I care about my job, in a sort, you know. I don't… initiate my plans without your consent just for the laughs."

Her eyes brightened immediately. "Wait, does this mean that you'll, you know, actually inform me before you get punched in the nose or get fined?"

His voice was etched with a laughter that showed how much he was amused at that statement. "I may be in love with you, Lisbon, but let's not go crazy."

She was still amazed how he could speak about his love for her so casually, and even though she didn't return the feelings, it was flattering _and _starting to become a normal thing. The road was rather empty and flat; any traffic on Saturday that was bound to happen hasn't yet. A plane was starting to zoom off the runway.

"So, what does this room look like?" Lisbon asked, the road in front of her looking as though it would go on forever. "I mean, any themes, views?"

"Eh, yes, actually," Jane said, looking out the window into nothing. "It's themed after the Lion King mixed with traditional African architecture… in a way." He was a bit excited, as she could tell. "We have one of the many rooms with a balcony; it overlooks the 'Savannah', or man-made enclosure with a variety of animals made to look like the savannah, I should say."

"Wow, wow," Lisbon said suddenly, processing his words. "We look over animals? That's… amazing. I wonder how big the whole place is?"

"Oh, it's huge." Jane said without a doubt, toying with her air conditioner. "It has two parts to it, and you have to hitchhike on a bus to one of the parks just to get to the other side."

"A bus?" Lisbon asked in a surprised question. "I thought you had to drive to all the parks."

"No, that would be impossible, in a standard sense," He said. "At every on-site resort, there's a bus stop that takes you to any park you choose, and vice-versa."

"On-site?" Lisbon asked with a curious tone.

"It means the resort is actually _in _Disney-owned property," Jane replied back in a fact tone. "Every resort there has a certain theme, and the rides to the parks are faster."

She took note of his clothes. "Are you going to be wearing those the entire trip?"

He shook his head. "No, much too hot for that. I packed some casual wear that I'll change into when we arrive."

She was anxious, to say the most, to see what the famous Patrick Jane would look like casually. She herself was wearing a violet v-neck with tight jean Capri's. Her feet were covered in ankle-high socks inside normal tennis shoes. She didn't know if it was deemed well for Disney, but she would learn tonight.

They pulled into the parking garage and, memorizing the level and column, they grabbed their bags and marched towards the elevator. Jane was idly playing with her ponytail, his face innocent.

They zipped through the formalities before flight- check in, metal detector, and the complex route to where their plane was headed. Van Pelt and Cho were already there when they arrived at the gate.

Van Pelt was just wearing shorts with a striped green tee, Cho just wearing a plain gray shirt with camo cargo shorts, the type that just go past your knee. They were standing rather close, as if they were wearing a badge and needed back up. Jane scoffed.

"Settle down, children. During this trip we are… mere friends, not co-workers," he informed them. They immediately relaxed and leaned on the leg opposite of each other.

"I'm sorry," van Pelt said sheepishly, her eyes slightly pleading. "It's just… I'm not used to this."

"Me neither. It's weird," Cho deadpanned.

"They got a point," Lisbon added expectantly.

Jane grabbed her wrist to check the time. "Half past three… Rigsby must be here by now."

Their flight was at four. He dropped by which she slid her hand back so it was barely in her pocket, like usual, and nodded.

They stood in silence for a while, but it wasn't really awkward; Cho was reading, of course, van Pelt was watching the different variety of people pass by her with interest, some obviously from England or India. Jane was watching Lisbon text on her phone, but only her reactions, not the phone itself. Rigsby showed up roughly ten minutes later.

"I thought you jumped out on us, Wayne, I was beginning to worry," Jane said enthusiastically before making a face. "Eh… Rigsby suits you more."

The big man chuckled. He was wearing a clean-cut, buttoned down shirt with short sleeves and breast pockets. It was blue in color with a bold design flourished vertically on the side, which he wore stylishly with cargo khaki Capri's. Jane had seen him in casual wear a few times, and he had always seemed he had walked out of a magazine with his styled yet comfortable ensembles. He was wearing some sort of cologne, the type that filled up the store wherever you went shopping at.

"Yeah, sorry man. Traffic was a pain."

Jane waved his hand indifferently. "Meh, no harm done, right?" He started to play with Lisbons' ponytail once more. "It's been rather boring out here anyway, so you're lucky to have gotten here at a convenient time."

Right on queue, the floor-to-window glass revealed an incoming plane. Everyone straightened up and placed their hands on their carry-ons, other then Jane. Not that Lisbon expected him to have one; he never really seemed to have nothing to do anyhow. Maybe get bored, yes, but always something to do. They walked up to the front of the line, right next to the 1-5 tab.

Jane leaned in to whisper something in Lisbons' ear. "Are you excited?"

Lisbon nodded slightly with a smile. "Sure, Disney must be fun."

He rolled his eyes. "Well, obviously. I was talking about being in a hotel room with _me_." He smiled suggestively.

Her face was innocent as she lowered her voice. "Well, if you try to touch me like that again, I'll elbow you in a place… A little bit lower."

He winced. "That's cruel, Lisbon."

"Well, obviously."

The lady called the 'A' section to board the plane. Lisbon led the group through the extended arm and into the plane, where the warm captain was greeting people.

He gave Lisbon an appreciative eye, along with van Pelt. "My, what a pleasure to be flying you pretty ladies." He tipped his hat.

Lisbon chuckled, van Pelt looking uncomfortable. Jane shook his head with a tight smile, but the captain caught any sudden hints. He turned his head to the other passengers with a small, strict nod.

Instead of sitting in the way front along with the team, she used her privilege to sit wherever by sitting just behind the wing on the right side; half in site of the wing, half of whatever it will be flying through. Jane, unfortunately, sat next to her.

"Go sit with the team," Lisbon ordered, dropping her bag under the seat in front of her, by her feet. Jane chuckled.

"I'm glad you chose a place far out, really. Now I can do this…" He wrapped an arm around her waist, bowing her closer. "And the team won't ever know." His eyes were dreamy, glazed over and virtually connected to hers. Her elbow was trapped in between them, and his hand covered her arm on the other side of her; it was a lose-lose situation. He was quite stronger then she had originally thought, so all she could do was turn her head away from him. He sighed and dropped his arm. "Well, it's no fun when you find a loophole."

She smirked, watching the people find their own seats lazily. She wasn't tired; the little sleep she did get was very fulfilling, until Jane screwed it up. She absently thought about him, though he was sitting right next to her. He had only kissed her _once_, but everything else he did implied that he did, well, more then once.

She raised her eyebrows at him expectantly, and it took him a moment to really understand what she was thinking, considering body language and slightly blushed cheeks, along with damp lips.

"Now, don't get me wrong, I _want _to kiss you," he commented, eyes darting from her to the people rushing about the plane out the window. He furrowed his brows slightly and hung his head, watching his hands. "Eh… it hurt a bit when you didn't respond, how limp you were. I felt like an utter villain, forcing a maiden to behold my selfish needs." He nervously looked the other way, not meeting her eyes. "I was confident enough to show you my feelings, and you unintentionally stomped them into the dirt. Good thing I have an extraordinary mindset. Else I _would _be up there with the team, and I suspect you would be too."

Lisbon thought about it for a moment, and realized she did go to the back to escape from him for the flight, but he followed her like a puppy. The description she made of him made her giggle internally.

Not too many people were here, considering the time. Jane and Lisbon were the only ones in a seat of three, and there were still more seats in the back for spare. Lisbon buckled in and pestered Jane to do so, also. She felt the plane jolt slightly as it made its' route to the runway. She gave Jane some gum, to help with the pressure in the sky, and chewed some of her own.

Jane was hooking her earphones in his ears. She looked from him to her right pocket in disbelief. "How did you…?"

"Oh, easy," he said, taking one out of his ear and placing it into hers'. "I reached into your pocket when I was flustering you."

"Gimme that," she said angrily, taking her green nano from his hand. She didn't bother to rip out his bud; she couldn't withstand his smoldering puppy dog eyes if she did, and he knew it. She swiped through her songs.

"Oh, what's that," Jane asked, stopping her finger and pointing to one of her songs, Pretty Rave Girl redid by Nightcore. She clicked on it quietly and turned the volume to a reasonable level as she looked out the window.

Jane found the music interesting; the vocals were obviously enhanced to a higher level, and he couldn't hear any classic instruments, just keyboards and computerized beats. He found it strangely appealing and narrowed his eyes thoughtfully, the music specially made to have you anticipate a build-up, like he was watching a suspenseful film. His hand drummed to the advanced beat on Lisbons' knee. Her other foot was tapping softly as well.

The song soon faded, just as their backs were beginning to press to the seats from the speed of the racing plane. They soon projected up, and he watched with pleasure as Lisbon happily watched the cars grew smaller and vast lands widened into view. She had hid her excitement, yes, on the many times during work when you had to take a flight to a crime scene. But now she didn't, and her eyes were lazy in contentment. He squeezed her leg.

The song currently playing was called… His eyes found the screen and he saw it was called Castle in the Sky by a person… no, a band called Trance. As the lands below them disappeared under the clouds, songs beat endlessly into their ears. After who knows how long, a woman appeared and offered them water and peanuts. They took them and thanked her.

Lisbon was… she didn't know what to think of herself as. Maybe warm, as she was sitting on her once-cold hands. Maybe sleepy, the land below them was hypnotic, like a swinging pendulum. Janes' hand was on her thigh, right above her knee. His hand was large, mostly in comparison to her thin leg; his finger was able to effortlessly trace shapes onto the hard bone in the southern part of her knee, his elbow laying on the armrest comfortably. She admitted to herself that it made her heart pound painfully whenever she saw it there, felt it gently squeeze every now and then.

She wasn't tired, but she impulsively rested her head on his broad shoulder, her head fitting rather well in the nestle curved near his neck; an innocent gesture, really, as a song called How to Love sounded faintly beside her drowsiness. She wasn't thinking of how it would affect him, the way he tensed up at her contact. She was tracing the tendons and veins on his right hand with feather-light pressure, her heart barely fluttering from her innocence on what she was _doing _to him. Thoughts raced through his mind, scenarios of what to do next hitting dead end after dead end. His head hit the back of the seat in confusion, frustration and exasperation.

That beautiful, devil woman was beating him at his own game.

_This _wasn't part of the plan.

**15+ reviews equals Chapter 4! Yeah, 4 will be a short one; we've been in need of short ones lately, but it gives you a feel of the surroundings. Remember to review!**


	4. Be Our Guest

**Alright, well, here is Chapter 4! Pretty short, I know, but it's still pretty decent. Next Chapter; EPCOT! I'm real excited about that. Now, every Chapter will the theme parks will be extra long, even though my chapters are long enough as is. I really appreciate the comments, especially ones from you lurkers! Any who, enjoy Chapter 4!**

****1 2 3 4

"Wow."

The Magical Express bus had picked them up from the airport, and was now being accepted through the gates into the lodge. Greenery was _everywhere_; Lisbon was pretty sure that there wasn't even that much plants in Africa, period! They were all the way to the front, two to a seat. Naturally, Lisbon chose to sit next to van Pelt. Jane wasn't too happy, but decided to sit next to his 'good ol' buddy, Cho'. Any other people on the bus where in the back, so they had room.

"Now, isn't this exciting?" Jane asked them, as if they were on a field trip. It wasn't far from one, though.

Lisbon shrugged. "I guess, I can't see much." With her amused smile she slid out of her seat right as the bus came to a stop, unexpected by the others. They were real spread out, so it would take them a while to get their stuff together. She walked out, Jane at her heals.

Jane trapped Lisbons' wrist before she could get any further. He was murmuring fast with an edge of frustration. "What the hell was that on the plane?"

Lisbon paused nervously for a moment, then got a bit angry herself. "Laying my head on your shoulder is hardly a reason to get angry about."

He raised an eyebrow humorously. "I'm not angry. I'm just…" He walked a few feet away from the bus, murmuring as he passed her softly. "Frustrated. You were very unpredictable, and no matter how much I don't like to admit it, I dislike…" He squinted his eyes from the glaring sun before meeting them to Lisbon's'. "People who I can't read like a book. If I can't predict your next moves, I'd have to rely on more… physical terms, which is a low for me."

She scoffed quietly, eyeing the team as they walked out. All their real bags were shipped to the room; a new thing. Apparently, Jane also ordered groceries online, which he timed to be shipped right when they arrived to the room, or near that time anyway. He narrowed her eyes at her, putting her carry-on on his own shoulder without breaking his gaze. "I use more physical means when it's needed, and you, Lisbon, have just been counted as an obstacle."

"Wait a moment," Lisbon said slowly, stepping away from the bus so the driver could get suitcases for all of the other people on the bus. "How am I an obstacle? I thought _I _was the thing you were trying to get to, not avoid."

He shook his head with a knowing smile. "Oh, you do not know the extent of the plan I intend to, even though tweaked a bit, follow through to."

She sighed. "Why me, then?"

A flash of anger clouded his eyes, but before he could speak Cho interrupted. "Where is the room?"

Jane scowled briefly, before composing himself and nodding toward a path surrounded by plants. Apparently, Lisbon realized, the driver was new, so he let them of at an entrance with a short trek instead of in front of the building itself. Lisbon shrugged internally, though; she didn't mind the walk. "Come on, I'll show you."

Lisbon sensed his tone, and walked slowly with van Pelt and Rigsby. Van Pelt threw her a confused look. "Jane seemed mad. Not that it's any of my business, but… What were you two talking about?"

Lisbon cursed internally, but awkwardly shook her head. "Nothing, just silly things."

Lisbon saw Jane grip her carry-on bag tighter, and van Pelt nodded to her. "OK, I just hope he'll be a bit happier on the trip."

"Oh, I plan to," Jane shot out, running his free hand along the green leaves. "This trip is going to be unforgettable, honestly. What do you think, Lisbon?"

Lisbon narrowed her eyes at his back, but no one else noticed. "Hey, you could be wrong. What if something happens that doesn't correspond with your plans?"

His jaw clenched slightly. "Oh, that won't happen. You know me; I promise something, I follow through with it." He turned to smile brightly to everyone, his composure relaxed. "I genuinely hope that all of you will have fun."

Rigsby was on the verge of laughing. "Am I missing something? Man, you're being…strange."

Jane chuckled, just as they approached the end of the short path. "No, no, you've just never seen me excited before. You may all have fun and such, but my ramblings are probably going to make it all the more awkward."

Cho didn't ruffle. "Noted."

They crossed the street and approached a huge cover, the theme as deeply African as Jane described. They crossed the road under it and entered the lobby.

It was very cool and refreshing, the air blowing onto you whenever you were suctioned into the lobby. The interior was amazing; it had beautiful chandeliers hanging lightly, and if you looked up, you could see halls of all the doors to rooms. There were chairs and sofas everywhere, and straight ahead were floor-to-ceiling glass windows that viewed the 'savannah'. To the right was a shop, to the left the check-in. The whole thing had earthy colors and looked as if made from wood, but definitely an expensive place. African artifacts littered gracefully inside of bamboo cases.

Jane whistled lowly. "This is _very _nice. I bet the rooms are comfortable." He shot Lisbon a smirk.

She pretended to ignore it and turned to the team. "Let's go check in. Jane here will keep watch of our bags." She stomped off.

Jane chuckled, and van Pelt looked at him strangely. "Did you… do anything to provoke her?"

Jane paused for a moment with a slight smile, then looked up at her. "Yes, I did, but she wouldn't take kindly to me telling anybody precisely _why_."

Cho turned to him. "I'm guessing something sexual, right?"

Rigsby stifled a laugh of disbelief, but Jane didn't miss a beat. "Something along the sort."

"Whatever it is, don't," Cho continued, setting his bags down with Jane. "Lisbon is usually stressed enough as it is, she doesn't need to be angered even more."

"Oh, but you see," Jane said with a perk. "She just thinks she's angered. There's a difference."

"Not much."

Jane narrowed his eyes thoughtfully at Cho. "Trust me, she won't be angry, or stressed out for that matter. That's the last thing I want her to be."

Rigsby took the brief pause that followed as a chance to add something. "So, the first thing you want her to be is why she's mad?"

Jane grinned widely at them. "Exactly. Now, stay here to watch the bags."

"No… Jane, wait!"

He waved his hand at them without concern, walking over to Lisbon in her place in the line. It was short, but moved a bit slowly. There was a row of the people who worked there behind the counter.

Lisbon looked at him for a moment, thoughtfully, before looking ahead. "This place _is _in fact nice. It would be even nicer without your inappropriate comments about everything…" She suddenly glared at him, hissing out the next few words and poking him in his hurt rib. "… _In front of the team_!"

He winced at her forwardness, but was a bit pleased nonetheless. "Does that give me permission to do it away from the team?"

"Sure, since all we'll be doing is talking anyways."

He paused for a moment, and then hung is head a bit. "I walked right into that one, didn't I?"

She gave him a sarcastic smile. "Yes, and I'm pretty proud of myself."

They moved upwards in line, and Jane stuffed his hands into his pocket, and the atmosphere shifted. "I'm still angry about that silly question of yours."'

"Which one?" She cocked her head innocently, but Jane saw right through her instantly.

"You know exactly what I'm talking about, Lisbon, and you're only digging your grave deeper by feigning ignorance."

She sighed heavily. The flash in his eyes after she asked him _'Why me?' _was too big to be ignored, he never opened his emotions like that before. She took another step in line and he followed suit, eyes emotionless and analyzing.

"Can you at least answer it?"

"My answer would be showing you '_why you_', and I don't think this is quite the appropriate place." One eyebrow rose in slight humor, but mostly from answer.

She turned away from him. "You're usually so calm and collected, not threatening to pounce on me. What gives?" She tried to keep her voice low in kindness for the family in front of her, and Jane's voice was always a slight murmur as is.

"Well, I already explained this to you in the car, so it would be ridiculous to repeat myself." He took an inconspicuous step towards her, and seemed to look off somewhere, subtly brushing his hand against hers.

Her breath hitched, which seemed strange. He had done worse to her, so why the hell did she shiver over just this? "You're right, that would be silly."

He turned his head to hers, and caught her eyes effortlessly, taunting her with the fact that she couldn't look away. "When we get to the room, I-."

"Next group, please!"

Lisbon snapped out of her trance and, irritably, stomped over to the worker behind the counter. Jane followed with an easy smile.

The woman was slightly tanned, with straight brown hair and hazel eyes. Her nametag said, 'Hi, I'm Claire from Sydney, Australia.' Her voice had a slight accent, but mostly erased form her time in America. "Hello there. I'm Claire, where are you two from?"

They went through the boring process of checking in while the team lazed around near the bags. Cho was the first to speak.

"Let's go buy some earplugs, I have a feeling we'll need them tonight."

"Ugh!" Rigsby groaned loudly, though smiling slightly as he did so. "It's our boss, man, not cool."

"And Jane," Cho replied, void of any emotion. "You have to admit, Jane has been leading up to this point. He may not want boss upset, but he's obviously provoking her. Though it does make it a bit less weird that we know who the guy annoying her is."

"No, it doesn't," Rigsby shot back, crossing his arms. "That makes it even more weird. I bet Jane will have a few broken bones by the end of this trip." He paused and shifted uncomfortably. "Besides, she doesn't even like people like that."

"Do you not remember Walter?" Van Pelt asked him suddenly. "It was obvious there were sparks between them. Plus," she pointed out skillfully, raising her eyebrows in explanation, "She showed up in the same clothes the day after the case. She couldn't have been more obvious, and Jane was surprisingly…"

"Distant." Cho finished in at her pause. "He all but avoided her for a few days."

Rigsby looked at them in confusion. "Lisbon and Mashburn slept together?"

Van Pelt looked at him like he was the most ignorant person in the world. Rigsby squirmed under her stare, and added, "I didn't know. I'm not good at the whole romance thing, OK?"

"You got that right," Cho said, looking out the window on the other side of the huge room. You couldn't see anything, but he got a glimpse of the wildlife. "There's a zebra out there."

Rigsby perked out of his gloom and turned around so fast, you could barely see the movement. "What? Where?"

Van Pelt followed suit. "Really? I wonder what else is out there!"

Cho looked away. "You guys are so easy to manipulate."

"You're right," Jane added from behind them. He was smiling wide, holding up room keys and a map in his hand with Lisbon tagging along, looking at something on her phone. "But the key is _not _to tell them they are, good friend."

"That was never my style, manipulating that is," Cho said. "I just file them down until there is nothing left to hide."

Jane winced. "When you put it in that context, it sounds near painful."

"That's why I hired him," Lisbon answered for Cho, pocketing her phone. Her hand was slightly near it, Jane noted, more so then her normal attitude, which she was trying to put on. Her voice was almost all business, causing whatever happened to be on her phone personal. He narrowed his eyes thoughtfully, promising to question her on it in the near future. "Good Ol' Cho, turning people into a defenseless worm with a look."

He almost smiled, and he didn't have to try and conceal his pride, it was gushing out even though he was silent. Jane clapped his hands once.

"If we're going to make Epcot tonight, we need to get moving." He grabbed his bag and took off towards the elevators. Van Pelt joined him.

"We're going to a park tonight?" She asked, struggling to catch up with his strides. They're legs are roughly the same length, but she usually took shorter steps. He found the fact amusing.

"Yes, of course. We eat at a rather popular restaurant there, very good reviews." He took one last look at the grand lobby. "Isn't this wonderful? The architecture is beautiful."

Van Pelt nodded. "Yeah, it is. I like how I feel like I stepped foot in Africa, like a new-and-improved hotel there."

Jane smiled. "I know what you mean."

The team was following closely behind, so they didn't have to hold the elevator door open. He punched in a number, and saw that Lisbon was texting again. He didn't want to confront her on it, at least not in an elevator. He glanced at his watch, and found that the flight was about three hours, if not a bit less. It was about half-past five, due to the three-hour time change, and their reservation was at about seven. He did the math quickly in his head, and found that he had around half an hour to work with, including the buses and how long it took to find the place. He smirked internally as the doors opened.

They walked along a hallway that overlooked the hallway once more, just two stories higher. They entered a hallway starting right where the giant windows in the lobby opened up to a platform to watch the animals. They walked a ways until they reached the room. He smiled at them.

"This is the key to your future, to your lifetime!" He held up one of the room keys, and Lisbon rolled her eyes, along with the rest of the team. "Now, I think a speech is in order…"

"Jane," Lisbon said irritably, snatching the key and brushing past him. He leaned over her, watching her glance at the key, breathing lightly on her neck. He laid his hand onto her hip innocently, though a corner of his mouth twitched. Her fingers turned ice-cold, but she managed to slide in the card smoothly and click the door open.

The room was pretty, really. Right as you entered, there was a small kitchen to the left, the right a short hallway. Straight ahead there was a small living room layout, beside the couch on the left wall a small wooden, neat dining table. Ahead was a balcony with a glass sliding door. The whole room looked as if it was made of wood, clay and leather straps, but it was very neat and a few artifacts cluttered the walls.

Lisbon veered off to the right first, rather then the other door on the left that was near the kitchen. She went through a doorframe, and on the right was a laundry room, straight in front of her a bathroom, and to the left three beds in a rather large bedroom, also with a balcony on the far wall. She furrowed her eyebrows and turned to Jane. "Why are there only three beds?"

The team seemed as though they were holding back a laugh. All three breezed past them, and set their things down in the bedroom. Jane grasped Lisbons' wrist gently and tugged her to the room she missed, near the kitchen. She could've sworn she heard Cho mutter 'Have fun' and the snickers of her team. Shakily stepping across the room and into the doorway, she gasped.

It was pretty, yes, with the same theme as the rest. To the right was another balcony, only with its' curtains draped over it softly. To the left was a grand bathroom with a large tub and a shower big enough to fit three people.

Right in the middle was a plush, king-sized bed. _One _bed.

She whipped around, dropping her bag. Jane had his arms crossed around his chest, leaning against the now-closed door with an easy smile. Lisbon eyed him dangerously. "No…"

He shrugged, and then nodded with a smug face. "I thought of it myself."

"God, Jane, when will you ever-," she stopped abruptly, and her hand darted down to her vibrating pocket. Jane beat her to it.

He lifted it up high, out of her reach. She tried to grasp at it. "Now, let's see who we've been texting here…"

He narrowed his eyes in a flash, and his voice turned to a quiet growl. "Mashburn? You have been texting _Mashburn_?"

Lisbon huffed, but seemed a bit guilty. "It's Walter, Jane, and he's your friend too. He sent me a text, and I figured what the hell, why not text back?"

"Why not?" Jane tossed her phone onto the desk, and then turned to her. "Let me refresh your memory, _Teresa._" The way he said her name made her stumble a step back. "You need to remember who you are to him, and who you are to me. Let's not forget that the only reason you call him 'Walter' is because of that meaningless sex you two had a nigh while ago." Her knees hit the back of the bed, and he practically threw her on to it, his own body covering hers'.

She was sure her heart stopped beating when his teeth grazed the line of her jaw. His whispered words tickled her ear. "If you dare speak to him on this trip ever again, I'm going to make sure all you _ever _call me is 'Patrick'."

She was scared, yes, but her stubborn side shot up and an angry flare crossed her eyes. "You're not the boss of me, _Jane._ I can talk to whomever I want, and you can't do a thing about it."

"You're right," he said, even more quietly then their whispered conversation. "I can't do 'a thing' about it. But I can damn well try, you better realize my intent. Don't count your eggs before they hatch, Lisbon. I'm not a nice man."

And he darted up, pushing himself off the bed away from Lisbon, who was lying there defenseless. She felt a surge of annoyance and propped herself up a bit irritably, watching him take off his scuffed shoes and socks. "Is that going to become a daily occurrence, you making me into a defenseless wreck while you go on your merry way?"

He shrugged off his jacket and started to unbutton his vest. "I wouldn't call it a merry way, Lisbon, more of a... rebuilt, now approachable path." When he got his vest out of the way, he didn't bother with his shirts' buttons and just slid it over his head. Lisbon once again ran her eyes over his well-defined chest, and then stopped at his blotchy bruise. She snorted.

"I got you good, didn't I, Jane? Yet you still keep bothering me again and again." She cocked her head sarcastically as he silently opened the suitcase that was waiting in the living room when they arrived, just like he expected them to. "Why is that?"

He looked at her with an intense look, not yet angry, but not yet taunting, either. "Because I love you."

She was speechless for a moment, and he swallowed a smirk and turned back to his clothes. He would need to keep it serious at points if he were to convince her fully of the extent of his feelings. He went to the dresser, which was two rows of three drawers, and set his underwear and socks on the top left one. Her voice came back. "I hope we at least go to one formal dinner, I packed a dress."

He turned around suddenly, his eyebrows up to his hairline. "You packed a dress?"

She rolled her eyes, but slightly dipped her head in embarrassment. "I didn't stutter."

"No, no you didn't." He set his casual T-shirts right below his first drawer. "Er, it's a restaurant here, called Boma. It's casual-formal, but at a certain time and night it's formal. I gave the team a heads-up, I was just surprised you had one. I know how much you dislike formal affairs."

She was already unpacking her stuff, neatly laying her things in the same way as Jane parallel to his set of drawers. "Well… I got it, that's that. What time do we leave?"

He dished his phone out, flipped his phone open for a split second and set it on the table. "Ten minutes we leave, and it takes around five minutes to get to the buses, which is just downstairs."

Lisbon nodded as his bare arm brushed hers'. She shivered, and then turned angrily to him. "Can you please put on a shirt?"

He turned to look at her, pure innocence plastered onto his face. "Does it bother you?"

"Well, yes… No, what I mean is…" She took a deep breath and buried her head in her hands slowly, closing her remaining drawer with her knee. "Why is this happening to me?"

She felt a warm hand on her back, soothing. She looked up to his face, though it seemed etched a bit with guilt and something else… She furrowed her eyebrows. He turned her with a slight pressure of his hand, bringing her to him. She bolted up. "I do not want to be comforted by the source of my problems, thank you."

"You're welcome. And Lisbon, you just don't like having change. That goes for me _and _this vacation, which will soon turn out to be fun, just you watch." His hand was still on her waist, but he dropped it. Instead, he opened his arms wide. "You just need a hug."

Lisbon rolled her eyes, and then put all her weight onto one leg. "I don't need anything from you, Jane."

"Of course you don't," He said, though Lisbon sensed a bit of persuasion in his tone before he continued. "I'll just give you one whenever you want it. Say the word, I'll get you whatever your heart desires."

"Including you turning back to normal?"

"Except that." He threw her a crooked grin. She didn't return it and just scooped up her toiletries to put in the bathroom. She closed the door behind her.

Jane sighed as the door shut. It almost hurt to irritate her so strongly, though he knew it was part of the plan. He opened the middle drawer and scooped up the first thing in sight; it turned out to be a white, thin t-shirt with faded black graphic designs clumped on the side. He quickly changed into new jeans and some normal shoes, running a hand through his hair to tame it. He glanced at himself in the mirror, and deemed his outfit appropriate. He transported his wallet in and, after a moment of thought, a miniature notebook and pen with a childish smile inside his jeans' pocket.

After a few clattering and sounds of shoes emitting from the bathroom later, Lisbon emerged, looking a bit fresher and happier. Jane was glad to see her chirp up, though he kept his impassive face on when she saw him.

Lisbon always, always knew that her consultant was handsome, very much so. Not like a suit-and-tie handsome with class. But a bad boy handsome, his taunting eyes only adding to the appeal. But now, even more so then whenever he was shirtless, with this casual wear accenting his muscles, Patrick Jane was… _sexy_. His easygoing face that seemed to stare her down made her squirm, and his muscles that flexed on instinct every now and then with his arms crossed almost caused her to lose her resolve.

_Dammit, Teresa! _Her sensible side screamed at her, jerking her head away. _Get a hold of yourself. Your strong, independent, and you know that you won't fall in love with him. He's just a know-it-all jackass, you don't need him!_

Lisbon sighed in relief at the thought and grabbed her phone off the table, flipping it open. That broke Janes' expression, -or lack of-, and he almost growled in warning.

"I don't approve of this dictatorship, Jane." Lisbon began, finding her new messages. "Walter is a sweet guy, and it's just a conversation. I don't think this will interfere with this silly game of yours."

"Did you tell him we're in Disney World?" Jane asked her suddenly, his eyes locked on a wall behind her, calculating. His face fell from his slightly angry mood and switched to his normal, familiar one. Lisbon cocked her head.

"No, I was about to. Why?"

He breathed out a sigh in relief. "If you told him, he would definitely show up here, being the romantic he is. I suppose, if you promise not to tell him, you can still text him."

She rolled her eyes and felt a surge of annoyance. "Gee, thanks."

"Your welcome."

"You don't rule my life, Jane," Lisbon said angrily, stuffing the phone in her pocket. "Stop acting like you do before I chop your neck, right at the pressure point."

"Oh Lisbon, I didn't know you liked it rough." Jane waggled his eyebrows suggestively. She slapped him in his hurt rib.

"Yow!" He yelped loudly, swallowing his smirk. Lisbon couldn't help but grin, her dimple flashing deeply beside her mouth. Turning her head from him, she tied her hair up with the band on her wrist into a sloppy bun. It exposed her slender neck and emphasized her smooth skin. His pain dropped in a heartbeat.

Janes' lips were pressed upon her neck in an instant, his strong arms wrapped affectionately around her waist.

She didn't have time to question or swat him away when he found it, that sweet spot on the curve between her neck and shoulder. When his teeth grazed it, she let out a moan; soft and covered with breath, yes, but loud enough to vibrate her throat, causing Jane to freeze. His mouth trailed quickly up to her ear.

"Have I found Little Miss Fierces' tender spot?" His words dripped with raw humor, unable to contain his excitement. His words were shaking in an attempt to control the speed of them. "Oh, this is bad news for you."

He nipped at the same spot once more, tauntingly, and then soothed it with his tongue. Lisbon swallowed the offending noise that threatened to bubble up her throat with difficulty, but in return had to use Jane as support. Her legs felt like Jell-O, boneless for a moment.

"Jane…" She murmured after her heart stopped its' swift painful throbs. "…Stop, please."

He froze his mouth, locking his jaw. The desperate tone of her voice immediately broke his resolve and turned his face into an impassive mask. He untangled his arms from her body and turned his back to her.

"Come on, it's time to go." He refused to look at her, for he knew he would be unable to control himself at the sight of a disheveled Lisbon. And her taste… If there is a God, only He knows' how Jane was able to withstand for so long. Though, as he walked out the door, he couldn't help the slight, dark smirk that approached his face at the thought of being a… puppet master, of some sort. Granted, she _was _more then a toy, but still…

She watched him in disbelief as he called out to the team, in disbelief at this newfound advantage, in disbelief of her lack of strategy to counterattack him now that he found her weakness. Her fists clenched and she mechanically walked after Jane.

He was _so _sleeping on the couch tonight.

**20+ reviews, Chapter 5! After that, though, I won't be going by reviews; I'm not quite finished with Chapter 6, so I can't magically post it with 25 reviews. Tomorrow is school again -bleh-, so less and less time will be spent working. But I do stay up late as is, so I'll put it to good use. Bye for now!**


	5. A Whole New World

**LONG chap. Or, at least, I think so. Dear god, next chapter will EAT this chapter in comparison! ALL day fun, most of the rides more descriptive than the one in here. Anyway, yes, I have run out of spare chapters. I have to do it the old fashioned way; write when I feel like it, post when I'm done. Expect a wait, unless I decided to have no life this week. Any who, enjoy the chapter!**

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"No way!"

The trilling laughter of a young girl echoed around the bus stop, breezing along like the dry wind. The screeching of buses were stopping at different spots; some Magic Kingdom, probably one Hollywood Studios, and Lisbon huffed whenever Animal Kingdom rounded twice with no sign of Epcot, though it had been only five minutes. It was busy this time of hour; more of people returning then leaving. And it was hot.

Jane had assured the team they wouldn't be late, especially to Rigsby, who was cranky from hunger. Van Pelt and Cho, the oddest combination, were in a laughing contest, Janes' idea. Cho was pointing out funny attributes to passing people, van Pelt was sharing ridiculous Rigsby stories, which he was a bit embarrassed about. All the while without laughing.

Jane was sharing funny tricks with a little girl, her dark cheeks even darker with a flush of excitement. Her mother was watching with a careful eye, _as if _Jane would even touch her, but had her full lips curled up. They seemed right at home with the African theme, with their deep skin and bright clothing draped around them. Jane was in the process of 'removing' his thumb.

He kept on sending cautious glances to Lisbon, who had let her hair down grudgingly to hide sensitive marks at the base of her neck. Also who was periodically checking her phone for texts, which she turned on silent to hide from Janes' prying eye. Not that it mislead him, though.

"Look, Lisbon!" Jane shouted, turning around and standing from his crouched frame. He had a stick in his hand and was performing the rubber pencil with it, the little girl behind him giggling. For the sake of the child, Lisbon refrained from commenting about his craziness and saved the curse words for later. She gave him a small smile.

He was obviously unimpressed. His smile faltered a bit, and his movements dimmed down. She rolled her eyes and looked out to an incoming bus. Epcot. She could hear Jane say his good-byes. "Farewell, young princess."

The bus screeched to a stop.

"Finally," Rigsby breathed from beside her, and she was surprised that he separated himself from the others. She chuckled at his relief.

"I guess I'm a bit hungry, too." Lisbon agreed. "I'm more excited with the park itself. You?"

"Of course, boss." He hesitated a bit. "I mean, Lisbon. I wonder what type of food this place will serve."

Lisbon full out grinned. "You and food, Rigsby. Ever thought about marrying a lucky hotdog one day?"

He let out a low, humored breath inside a pause. "Steak is better."

"It is, too."

They boarded the shuttle behind a group of people, and Lisbon wasn't surprised when all the seats were taken. She grabbed onto the railing above her when the bus lurched forward, her other hand onto a side railing.

Something warm touched her abdomen, and it jerked her down. She flailed her arms for the window for leverage, but when she saw the tanned skin and flash of a wedding ring around her slim stomach, she understood who it was. A voice confirmed her thoughts.

"Stop struggling, Lisbon." She was tensed, but not surprised. His words were a bit muffled from behind her curtain of raven hair. "If you don't relax, I'll steal something very important while you're asleep." His tone was amused.

She snorted, but her sensible side ruled over her stubbornness. She relaxed, only pop her posture straight once more. There was something protruding under her, out of place along his seemingly normal lap. She turned her head slightly towards him.

"What the hell is that?"

He paused briefly, and then chuckled airily, his hot breath kissing her neck in puffs. He didn't answer, but his slight shift in his seat and his quiet laughter still sounded in her ear. She finally understood and stood up slowly, her head turning to him in an equally slow manner. Her eyes darted to his jeans, and then she regretted it and darted back up to his eyes. He was watching her innocently, his lips the barest hint of a smile. He shrugged.

"I'm only human, Lisbon. Just because I'm extraordinarily psychologically aware doesn't mean the rules of biology doesn't apply to me." He shrugged again, happier. Everyone was chatting away in the bus, so no one took mind to their conversation.

Lisbon was near whispering, her tone confused, in a way. "Well, put it back!"

"Only one way I know how." He waggled his eyebrows at her suggestively. She swatted him hard in the chest, a blush forming up her cheeks. His face was slightly flushed, also, and there was a sheen layer of moisture on his upper lip. Lisbon almost felt… smug for his discomfort. She also felt a bit uneasy, seeing him out of his cool.

After a while, she was able to keep her balance easily without holding onto the handrails, her stomach turned towards Jane in an attempt to cease the surprise attacks. She flipped open her phone, and a message was waiting. She grinned. Walter sent her a picture of the foreign country he was at, wherever it was. It was pretty beautiful, with rolling hills and sparkling blue waters, a sunrise sprouting in the background. She immediately started texting back her thoughts. She noticed Janes' hands lightly tracing her hips, but she ignored them easily in her thoughts. He was insistent, adding pressure, patting the bone lightly. She looked up.

"Hey, what's so handsome about Mashburn?" She raised her eyebrows at his question, but darted her eyes back down to finish the text. She stuffed her phone back into her pocket. "I mean, I can be empathetic, of course, but you don't seem the type that goes for money. How does he look to you?"

She sighed. "Do you honestly want the answer to that question?"

His eyes were taunting. "I asked it, didn't I?"

She hesitated, and then hung her weight onto the bar above her she gripped onto. Her shirt rose slightly, and her firm stomach was flat above her Capri's. Jane averted his eyes with difficulty and crossed his arms over his waist. She began.

"Well, I've always had a thing for the natural looks… Y'know, brown hair and brown eyes. And he's incredibly tall, which is my… preference." Jane nodded in understanding, not appearing ruffled. She gave him a once-over and continued. "He's, eh… childish, funny, charming, and quick-witted. Fun to get into arguments with, mostly because he lets me win." She shook her head with a smile. He felt a pang but didn't show it.

He cocked his head. "…And?"

She averted her eyes from him, feeling an ashamed twinge coming on. "And he's the only one who's shown interest in me in a long time." Her next words were mumbled. "…A long time."

She felt wanted, and was embarrassed for doing so. All those years, he thought… _Oh. _"Oh."

Lisbon looked out the window toward the passing cars. "…Yeah."

"Teresa…" He murmured, firming up his hands more on her waist, starting to tug her closer. She started to oblige, and…

"In a few moments, we will arrive at Disney Worlds' EPCOT. Please gather up your belongings and…"

The intercom system with the automated voice brought Lisbon away and stood Jane up. Instead of annoying her or pulling her closer, he leaned into her. She smelled the sweet scent of his cologne, and his lips hit her dimple, right beside her mouth. He pulled back, and looked at her expectantly.

Without missing a beat she reached up slowly, her arm extending while she slightly bit her lip. She brushed a few curls that protruded the top of his forehead behind his hairline, into the rest of the wavy forest. She ran her fingers down the side of his face, to the curve of his jaw. He leaned his head into her hand, and a rumble sounded deep in his chest as he tried to pull her closer. She dropped her hand as if it burned.

She turned around and gathered up her team as if they were her children, motioning them over. Van Pelts' eyes were full of wonder as they looked out the window.

"Wow," the redhead breathed, voicing Lisbons' thoughts. Lisbon smiled slightly, her kissed-by-the-sun dimple flashing deeply.

"Wow, indeed." Jane murmured, watching Lisbon rather then the magical world outside. She felt his eyes on her, but she didn't look at him, her cheeks darkening. The sun was far from descending completely, but it wasn't exactly at its' midpoint. Van Pelts' fascination was aimed to the many flowers framing the bus stop, along the route towards the entrance with trees' hanging over railing. The bus lurched to a stop.

"Here we go," Jane said lightly, running a hand through his hair. "Be ready to release your inner childhood."

"My childhood was beating up other people and stealing cars," Cho said, his arms in a trademark cross. His eyes _were_ taking in all the sights, though, and every once in a while he let himself a hint of a smile. "Do you really want me to repeat that in Disney World?"

Jane shrugged. "Do whatever feels right."

The doors of the bus creaked open, and people flowed out, walking along the trees and plants, towards the entrance plaza. The team followed suit, and Cho took out his camera and snapped a few pictures. Rigsby looked at him strangely.

"She's always wanted to come to Disney," Cho said, taking another picture of the flowers. "I promised pictures."

Before Rigsby could respond, Jane pointed up towards the treetops. "Look."

The top of a sphere, white in color, was peaking up above the leaves. It had indentions on it, and it was obviously at a distance, making it very, very large. It looked like a… _giant golf ball._

"Spaceship Earth pavilion," Jane commented, turning his head back in front of him to avoid hitting any more people. "There's a ride in there about how much technology has advanced throughout the years. Very popular, mostly from the air-conditioning and its' relaxing nature."

"So there's actually a ride in there?" Rigsby asked excitedly. Cho snapped a picture of the golf ball that was slowly growing more prominent. Jane nodded.

"It goes up to the top, gradually of course. It's one of the most well-known family rides' in Disney World, so it shouldn't race up like Space Mountain or Rock n' Rollercoaster." He noted their curious looks. "Hakuna Matata, my friends. We'll get to those as the days go on."

They hit the plaza, and Jane handed them cards. It was a metallic gold, and there weren't any words on the front. It glinted rainbow in the sun. Jane nodded towards them.

"We won't need to Fast Pass anything with these. We just flash them to the crew, and off we go, able to skip the awaiting line. Only the… more privileged guests have them." He was smug. Lisbon figured that she would be, too, if she had 10 million dollars in the bank.

Cho spoke now. "What's Fast Pass?"

Jane paused for a moment, to think of the exact meaning. "Fast Pass something along the sort of a cheat. The more popular, slow moving rides have them. You get to the ride, usually early on during the day, and buy a ticket for later. When it's… later, you basically skip the line and wait in a very short one, usually boarding the ride within 10 minutes."

"How do you know all this? You've never been to Disney." Lisbons' tone was accusing.

He didn't bother to turn his head to them. "Meh, I pestered the woman helping me arrange the plans. Think of me as your handsome, talking Disney handbook."

Lisbon snorted.

The greenery were subtly becoming thinner and smaller. As they disappeared completely, a gasp was audible from each member.

Arching above the entrance by which they would soon pass through was the giant white sphere, complete with triangular indentions stimulating the idea of a giant golf ball. How it should not tip over was a mystery to Lisbon, but at the bottom it was held up by a building, one was a line of people the other the exit, which was a shop. A tall, stone railing ran near it; they saw it was a monorail as one zoomed across it to the station next to them. It was magnificent.

Cho snapped a picture.

"Spaceship Earth is best to ride when departing, before sunset," Jane nearly breathed, still captured by its' excitement. He started to edge forward. "That will be our first ride in Disney."

"OK," Lisbon agreed, also enchanted. This was more then she had expected, the way the excitement bubbled inside of her. She didn't want to leave. Not Disney, not her team, not Jane. She wanted to experience everything with them, she realized with glee. She hoped that they were feeling the same way she was, an extreme happiness that she didn't want to shake off. This _was _magical.

They walked through the plaza, inserting their cards. They placed their finger on the scanner, and their golden cards popped back out. Without hesitating, they walked out from the shaded entrance and into the full effect.

Metal slabs framed the walkway towards a small fountain in front of the globe in rows. The _'snap snap' _of Chos' camera was like a catchy rhythm, and they subconsciously synchronized their steps with it. When they reached the small pool of water, they leaned against the stone edge. Jane pointed to the metal rows.

"Those are 'Leave a Legacy'. Thousands of names and pictures just on one slab. People pay to leave their 'footprints' there, in a way. In case you were wondering."

'_Snap.'_

"So, where's the… Garden Grill?" Rigsby asked uneasily. They were all kind of hurting with hunger, and his words brought it up once more.

"The Land pavilion." He closed his eyes, and Lisbon wasn't surprised that he memorized the map. He motioned them up. "This way."

They walked through a wide space directly under the golf ball, and they all sighed when the opening of doors sent blasts of cool air onto their slightly warmed skin. After the shade, they entered something called Innovations. A much larger pond was centered in the middle, with barely a shade covering the whole section. A slightly less hot sun was streaming through, buildings framing the circular shape. Jane briskly walked to the right, but pausing slightly for Cho to take more pictures. Passing a gap between buildings, The Land pavilion opened up into view.

It was shaped into a… glass dome of some sorts, with a short cylinder on top of it. It was very large, and the windows were tinted enough so you couldn't see inside. Heavy greenery was placed around it, the leaves giving it more of a forest-y feel. The concrete elevated to an entrance up a bit higher, and Rigsby smiled slightly when he saw children running down the descent. He wanted to do that.

Van Pelt ran her hand over one of the leaves. "I have the need to, like, go save a rainforest or something now."

Rigsby touched the plant also, feeling the stem. "This is the biggest leaf I've ever seen. If the rainforest has leaves like this, I'm kind of afraid of what else it has."

"The rainforest usually has venomous frogs, poisonous snakes and animals with deadly claws and teeth," Jane noted, leading the team upwards. "I may be adventurous, but _I'm _sure not going there."

Cho took a picture of the large building and of the thick plants framing it. Lisbon chuckled and spoke her thoughts absentmindedly. "Walter just visited the rainforest, he says it's not that bad."

"Oh really, now?" Jane asked her. "With or without one of his girlfriends?"

She narrowed her eyes at his back as they approached the building. "I wouldn't know, I wasn't there."

Jane stiffened and van Pelt looked at her strangely. "You and Walter are together… together?"

Lisbon watched her feet. "Well… yeah."

"Does Walter know about this arrangement?" Jane darkly asked, his jaw clenching. How dare she mention him with gratitude once more, without his permission no less. A slight cover a few yards out above the doors shaded them, blocking out the burning sun.

Lisbon spoke through her teeth. "He's the one that suggested it. Now, instead of fighting, let's just have a happy freakin' dinner and get on with the wonderful world of Disney, alright?" And she stomped off inside.

"No, Lisbon, wait," Jane started. He caught the door before it closed and sighed heavily at her retreating form. The AC hit him in the face and he nearly got chills.

"Jane, why'd you have to get her angry?" Rigsby asked, exasperated from hunger. He walked through the open door.

"She's not angry," Cho said, his voice emotionless. "She just thinks she is." With that he followed suit.

Van Pelt just gave him a nervous frown and breezed past him. Jane furrowed his eyebrows, calculating, and entered the cooled building.

It was magnificent inside, no matter how irritated Lisbon was at Jane. Objects that seemed to be miniature Earth and hot-air balloons hung from the ceiling, and the 2nd story on which they were on curved around into a complete circle. On the opposite side of the shape they were on were escalators that brought you downwards to a food court centered in the middle. Lisbon could see that rides called Soarin' and Living with the Land was downstairs, under the walkways they were on. Lisbon walked a bit to the right and leaned over the railing, to get a look at this Soarin' ride. There was a small gift shop near the exit and group after group of people were entering the waiting line. A digital clock above said that the wait time was… _120 minutes._

"2 hours?" Lisbon breathed to herself, confused. No way that was right.

"It's a popular ride." Jane said from beside her. She was about to agree with him when she remembered that she was angry with him. He noted her change in mood and sighed. "I'm sorry, OK? I was being utterly rude and I regret saying hurtful things to you. Will you forgive me?"

Lisbon sighed and pushed herself from the railing. "Fine, just… stop getting so jealous all the time. Walter is perfectly nice."

Jane felt a surge of jealousy just at that statement, but he swallowed it and held out his hand. "Deal."

Lisbon eyed it warily, then deemed it safe. She placed her hand into his, firmly gripping it into a shake. Jane tilted his head and, switching hands, he trapped hers and nodded towards the far side. There were no hallways, just a slowly rotating circular restaurant taking up some of the space. Lisbon walked with Jane.

"Hey," Jane began, glancing at the walls they passed. There was a show named the Circle of Life on the right side of the 2nd story, all about environmental issues hosted by Timon and Pumba. It was interesting, he had heard, but shows were closed down for the day. The team was a few steps ahead of them; they had gawked a bit at the interior, too. "Are you really Walters' girlfriend now?"

Lisbon turned her head back to the Soarin' ride, watching people enter with what she hoped was excitement, she couldn't quite see from that far away. She dropped Janes' hand. "Well, whenever he talks to me he implies that I am."

Jane subtly looking up at the glass windows above. They _were _heavily tinted, making it look like there were dark clouds outside rather then the fluffy ones in multi-colored hues. "Do _you _want to be?"

She shrugged. That was enough answer for him.

They reached The Garden Grill and Jane spoke his reservation, flashing his I.D. and his Gold Card that let him inside the park. The woman there was about to hand him a buzzer, but her eyes widened at the rich metallic color of it and shakily brought up a waiter. She whispered a few things to him, and he nodded briskly. He checked the seating chart and, with a smile, ushered them over. The circular restaurant seemed to be nestled into the wall; there were no doors, just an open space. It was tastefully decorated, and Cho stood back to take a few pictures before following them in.

It was a complete circle, honestly. The man brought them to the right, and they got a glimpse of the Living with the Land ride below; it was a slow boat one, and the environment seemed to be a dark prairie. Artificial leaves lined the railing, keeping people from falling into the scene below. The man brought them to a booth that was only a few steps from where they entered. At the rate the restaurant was spinning, by the time they were finished eating they would probably be at the end of the scene, which filled up almost the whole right section. Not a long prairie, the place wasn't huge, but pretty big. They seated so that Jane was on one end, Lisbon on the other, the team on the inside. The booth was circular, so van Pelt was in the middle, Rigsby beside Lisbon and Cho beside Jane. The waiter had his pen firmly in one hand, notebook in the next. "What would you all like to drink?"

They ordered, and Rigsby had his eyebrows furrowed. "Where are the menus?"

Jane looked around, and saw something in common with the other booths. "They give us platters with different foods. You can get more of the same platter you like for free." Suddenly, his eyes locked onto an object that was seemingly behind Lisbon. She saw him reach into his pocket, and she started to turn her head.

She was met with a large, tan snout with a rubber red tongue lulling out the corner of the mouth. She shimmied into Rigsby and she heard Jane laugh.

"Pluto, old pal!" He reached out to shake his hand, and held out a new notebook. It had 'Disney' in calligraphy on the cover, and you had to flip it vertically. He handed the dog a pen. "Could you?"

He nodded vibrantly, bending down so he could autograph. Jane patted the dogs' head, and gave a thumbs up to the others' over the tan fabric. Lisbon relaxed away from Rigsby, and she heard him laugh. "You alright?"

She glared at the young agent. "Well, a giant dog just scared the crap out of me. How would you feel?"

Pluto finished as he heard her, lifting up the leather flaps he had as ears with his hand-paw. He grumbled, covering his long face with his hands. Lisbon immediately felt bad and scratched his nose. "There there, doggy. I didn't mean it."

He perked up and gave her a kiss on the cheek. She smiled, as did the team. Cho picked up his camera and gently kneed van Pelt and Jane. "Hey, go up there in a picture with him."

Jane scooted out upon request and helped Lisbon up. Rigsby did the same with van Pelt, and they stood up beside Pluto. Intertwining their arms together, they smiled. Jane murmured under his breath, "Say cheese."

Lisbon linked that together with Mickey Mouse, who likes cheese, and she grinned wider. The picture snapped, and she pat the dog on the head.

They slid back into the booth and Pluto waved them off, and van Pelt returned the wave. Lisbon slid her eyes to Jane, and she found that he was watching her. She gave him a half-hearted shrug with a smile, and he returned a smile of his own. Lisbon felt a familiar buzzing in her pocket, and pulled it out.

Jane: 'Where are you sleeping tonight?'

Lisbon rolled her eyes, her thumbs quickly tapping. 'Couch.'

'Me too.'

'Hell no.'

'No need to curse.'

'Just getting the point across.'

"That you did," Jane said out loud, right as the drinks and bread arrived. He laughed at the teams' confusion. "It's nothing."

Lisbon took a sip of her coke. "So, after this we do a ride? Won't it be too late?"

Jane shook his head. "No, park closes at nine, in about an hour and a half. We should be fine."

Lisbon smiled to herself at the thought of riding in a golf ball. _A golf ball. _She just hoped that there were no giant golfers around, which _is _possible, at least in Disney World. She heard a gasp and she found Jane perked up immediately, his eyes staring excitedly into space. Lisbon whipped her head around, as did the team, yet there were no giant animals there.

"On Monday, we go to Hollywood Studios."

Lisbon cocked an eyebrow. "Jane, I'm sure that, in your mind, that makes sense…"

He shook his head and dimmed down a bit to explain. "Yes yes, I apologize. Anyway, there is something there called 'American Idol Experience.'"

Rigsby went rigid. "Dude, I can't sing."

"Already stole your phone, you have no choice." He held up three phones with a mischievous smile. They all checked their pockets and, with an irritated sigh, they went flat and crossed their arms simultaneously. Lisbon held up her own phone.

"What about me? I have mine; I don't have to sing in front of hundreds of people."

"More like a thousand, dear. I bribed the directors of it to give us some… privileges. Word of the event has spread; I bet people were reserving tickets already to get a sight at the wonder of Disney bending the rules." He quirked an eyebrow at her. "Also, you know and understand what I'm capable of. I have no doubt that you'll oblige."

Lisbon felt a sinking feeling when she found his words deeming true. Cho stared Jane down. "I'm not singing."

Jane nodded happily. "Yes, you are. When I'm positive, I'll return your communication devices." Lisbon, angrily, began to formulate a plan in her head. She suddenly smiled brightly, but Jane wasn't really analyzing at the moment to catch it.

Janes' lips were in his handsome ghost of a smile. "I'll let you pick your own songs; that much you get."

Lisbon narrowed her eyes at him, mostly for giving the team an unneeded aura of discomfort. "If you don't give them back their phones and let us walk away from this, I'll…" She bit her lip. What had she thought of, just moments ago?

Jane smirked. "You'll what, dear?"

She jumped as the thought appeared once more. "I will tell Mashburn _where _I am, what _hotel _I'm at, and _when _to move me to another hotel. Near here, maybe." Her voice was truthful; she would do it. "It would be a nice atmosphere. Maybe I'll get lucky and stay in another room in this hotel… Decisions, decisions."

Janes' face was impassive. Then grew dark, dangerous even, as Lisbon drawled on in her daring tone. The team smirked, too, on her side as well. All against him. No, _he _had all of the power, _not _her. Oh, she would pay for this later. His head tilted, and his smile grew sickly sweet. "Okay, Teresa." He handed the phones' back, eyes locked with hers. She was a bit fearful, it seemed. Good.

Jane smelt the food before he saw it, and his bitter thoughts all but vanished.

Jane realized how hungry he actually was when he smelt the aroma, and winced at the painful gurgle of his stomach. The man carefully set down the many platters of food, gave them a smile and murmured 'Enjoy'.

All of the plates were steaming. To start with the side dishes, they had gotten Mac N' Cheese on a good-sized platter topped with crumbled cheese crackers. Along with that was a plate mouth-watering sweet potato French Fries shaken with a certain sort of salt, Jane believed. Onto the main platters, one was a cut-up beef strip that was char-grilled, garnished with rosemary and pepper while heavily laid atop leaves, the other the Catch of the Day, which appeared to be a nicely smoked type of trout. A small bowl of vegetables and a platter of oven-roasted drumsticks added nicely to the atmosphere. Van Pelt went for the fish, Rigsby a few portions of the juicy steak, while Cho hung back for everyone else to choose. Lisbon reached out to the Mac N' Cheese, but Jane beat her to the chase.

Treated her right, for foiling a portion of his plan after all.

Lisbon narrowed her eyes, but teasing. He caught her mood and smiled gently, poring a portion of the food onto her plate. She was able to wrangle a drumstick before Rigsby finished them off, along with a steamed cauliflower that no one was going to eat, anyway. She thought the food on her plate was a pretty good deal, really, and began to dig in.

First, she tried a bite of the drumstick. It was oven-roasted and covered in spices, so she didn't have to lean over the plate too far in case of grease. It was tangy, in a way, and what she supposed was a clove of garlic covered her tongue, making even the cauliflower taste good whenever she plopped a branch in her mouth. She made sure her face was impassive, because if she let out a moan or showed her pleasure, Jane would never let it down. Never.

They finished fairly quickly, though they felt like they would burst from all the rich food. Lisbon really liked the Mac N' Cheese; it was cheesy, but not painfully so. Even Rigsby rejected desert; if they were hungry later, there were sweet snacks at their room from the grocery order. Jane paid, and after a moment Lisbon figured that life was good.

They stumbled their way off of the slow-moving platform, and Lisbon saw from the entrance that it was getting darker. She remembered Janes' words; 'Spaceship Earth is best to ride when departing, before sunset. That will be our first ride in Disney.' Lisbon was nearly giddy with excitement.

Jane patted her head, like she was a little girl. "You ready?"

She swallowed her smile and kept her chin up, but she failed and went back to smiling again. "Yeah."

Jane nodded briskly. "I thought you would be."

"Well, I am!"

Jane grinned, and wrapped an arm around her shoulder lazily.

Lisbon waited for any angry to show up, but it didn't. All she felt was… nothing. She was impassive to this now? Hell no.

She unwrapped herself from him and went to stand beside Cho. A low sound emitted from Janes' chest, but no one really noticed. Except Lisbon; she'd heard it before, and now it's nearly familiar. She was whispering quickly to Cho as they entered the Innovations Pavilion.

"I need to get away from Jane!"

"I noticed," Cho said without concealing his voice. But then, to the shock of the whole team, Cho relaxed his demeanor and smiled. "I think it's pretty funny."

Lisbon gave him a 'WTF' look. Cho shrugged.

"I'm not on the job anymore." He seemed to be speaking to the whole team. "My body just seemed to realize that, and now I'm… happy. You might see me smile more on the trip."

Rigsby smiled and slapped him on the back lightly. "You're like a real man now, bro!"

Cho's face went impassive once more, and his body went cold enough to zap Rigsbys' hand off. "Stop doing what you're doing."

Rigsby backed off, but Cho smiled once more. The team went in awe once more, but then broke out laughing. Jane chose the opening to stand by Lisbon once more, grabbing her hand.

"Ride with me on Spaceship Earth?"

Puppy dog eyes. Just great.

"Sure," Lisbon said, just as they went under the arch below the golf ball. There was no line, so they made their way uphill, into the building below the ball with ease. Right as they entered, in front of them were rotating… seats, but high tech. Hard to explain. It was two to a seat, and one screen was in the middle of the two, on the back of the seat ahead. You had to quickly jump into a seat before you missed it, and the people working there happily ushered them in, and assigned them seats to hop into. Rigsby chose a seat to himself; he was tired, he said. Van Pelt sat with Cho, and who sat with Lisbon? Yeah, that guy.

They went through a little opening, and started to climb uphill. Janes' breath tickled her neck. "Smile."

She did, just as a camera flashed. Nice, there were cameras. Their screen lit up, and a voice started talking, a speaker in the headrest that was loud enough to not be counted as background noise, but quiet enough as to not hurt their ears. The voice was female, and British. They chose a language, and touched where they lived. U.S.A., California, Sacramento… The screen went black. Lisbon leaned back, and almost closed her eyes until Janes' lips went back to their original position, near her neck.

"Cavemen."

She looked ahead, and saw a giant screen, where a caveman was fighting a mammoth in a blizzard. She almost felt cold herself, watching the snow drift harshly around the duo. The same, British female, voice started narrating about how civilization communicated, and how it all began. Past the screen, they came into a room with machines.

"Automatons," Jane murmured, towards the cave scene. Lisbon nodded slightly, and the woman talked about how the 'first form of communication was written on cave walls'. The cart went through each scene, leading up to, ultimately, the time of now. Throughout the ride, Jane murmured silly facts about each scene that passed, or the people themselves.

"Faustina, the wife of the emperor Marcus Aurelius of Ancient Rome, had a collection of several hundred wigs. But the Romans did have excellent strategies for things that would come their way."

"The Egyptian's believed that the earth was flat and round, like a pancake, and that the Nile flowed through the center of it. Even past that, the rulers such as this are incredible intelligent."

"Speaking of the Egyptians, Cleopatra was actually Greek, like the people in this scene. She was part of the famous Ptolemy family, and was the only Greek to every rule that spoke Egyptian."

Lisbon wasn't annoyed with the harmless comments, actually. She was feeling quite the opposite, really. She didn't mind the facts that he whispered in her ear, or how intensely his eyes burned into her, checking for a reaction. It was always a satisfactory one, with a slight smile or a deeper look around. Nothing was really faked. After awhile, they started to get into more familiar territory, though still before her time. Printing presses, 'Extra! Extra! Read all about it!', the man on the moon, and past scenes that were, most likely, high tech at the time. Suddenly, they came into a small shed. A man was hunched over, working silently on some sort of machine as they passed.

"Bill Gates," Jane murmured, his lips brushing her neck.

They went through a little tunnel, the green numbers from The Matrix rushing up and down the projection screen. As they emerged, Lisbon silently gasped and sat up.

They were now in 'space', like they were viewing the stars and the galaxies and Earth from the rocky terrain of the moon. Triangular plates were indented faintly all around the spherical top of the vast, starry sky; they _were _at the top of the ball. They rounded it, the Earth and many other figures in the night lit up, like they were actually there. The cart turned around, so that they were beginning to lean back. Lights hung from the ceilings like stars, and they were buried into the descent. The voice came on again, and the screen lit up. It hurt their eyes for a moment, for being in a semi-dark ride for a while, but they could still see just fine.

"Touch screen," Jane said quietly, and questions came up. Mostly about your preferences, your priorities, most likely things you worry about while on vacation. Lisbon let Jane touch all of the answers he cared for without complaint. It went to a loading screen after a few moments of choosing, claiming it was 'building your future'. He leaned back, and smiled at the woman beside him. A sleepy woman, he might add; it was about 8:45, and the park closes at nine. Everything worked out rather perfectly, he thought happily.

"What's with the smile?"

"Eh," Jane began, pressing his cheek against her shoulder. He wanted to get closer, and Lisbon was only mutual. The whole point of the plan was for _her_ to want him, also. She was beginning to crave space at the moment; leaning away from him, but subtly so. Whenever he spurted a fact, she would nod and nonchalantly pull away a bit. He sighed. "Enough about why I'm smiling. What I really want to know is-."

The screen lit up, and she turned away from him yet once again. He smiled, bittersweet, but managed to calm down enough to watch the screen in front of them also.

"That's us!" Lisbon said loudly.

From the picture in the beginning, their faces were glued onto cartoon characters. They depicted what the future would be like, with their source from what Jane chose. They walked around, and depicted an all-too perfect future with all-too perfect ease. It was really quite funny, but also adorable in a sense.

When the film ended, light was being shone from behind them from a brightly lit room, and the elevation decreased gradually until they were straight.

"Welcome back," said an obviously tired worker, ready to get back home. Jane could understand that. The small door opened beside them, and they stepped onto the circular moving belt. The workers had to wake Rigsby up, which caused him to practically jump out of the vehicle from surprise, anyway. Van Pelt and Cho seemed content, but were as dazed as, well, everyone was at this hour. Slow steps, eyes nearly closed, skin clammy and heavy. They couldn't defy gravity; they would go down sooner or later.

Jane smirked. They thought they were tired? Amateurs.

XXXXX

The gasp was audible from the team as they entered the hotel room. Relief, and exhaustion. To be fair, their tiredness was only increased by jetlag, confusing weather, and drowsiness after a big meal, but it was bound to be worse tomorrow. Jane stretched his arms.

"Well, I'm gonna go hit the hay. Magic Kingdom all day tomorrow, get your rest. C'mon Lisbon."

She yawned and nodded. When they walked through the doorway, Jane began to close the door. Lisbon gave him a warning glare and he held his hands up, to prove that he stopped. "Okay, okay, sorry. And you can have the bathroom first, I'm going to put away the last of my things."

Lisbon nodded, heavily, and took her things to the bathroom. She wasn't planning on taking a shower, since she took one that morning, but she might as well. Without washing her hair, though. She was a master at quick showers, though, and was out of the bathroom roughly 5 minutes later.

Just burnt orange sweatpants and a navy tank top with '00' written number-like on the chest. Very hometown-Chicago-y. Go Bears. Jane raised his eyebrows slightly.

"What, no shorts?"

Lisbon glared at him. "Don't worry, perv. These are the only pair that end below the thigh."

He smirked at that. "Alright, sunshine. Are you still sleeping on the couch?"

She quirked her mouth, then sighed. "Too tired for much resolve. But I have enough to enforce strict no-touching rules."

Jane gave her a humored look. "Yes, Lisbon, because I'm such a _stickler _for the rules."

Crap, he was being sarcastic, wasn't he?

XXXXX

12:56 AM. If this was so deeply African, Jane pondered, why are there working clocks? To hell with it, that notion flied out the window and off the balcony the moment he realized that the air quality was better then anywhere back home. He stretched, and his hand brushed the mountain of pillows beside him.

Lisbon thought she was enforcing a point when she set them, but really, she was just being adorable. Was she asleep? Jane had to sit up to look, and found out that yes, she was. _Finally. _She's been tossing and turning for hours.

Slowly and silently, he plucked each and every pillow from top to bottom and set them around the room, neatly organized in a way. He got to the last one, and dropped it onto the floor without much thought. It was like he just emerged from a cave, and he could see the world again. His world, again.

He slithered back in bed, like a snake, and lied on his side, towards her. She yawned, but turned her back to him, curling up slightly. He smiled tenderly, and began to wrap his arm around her waist. She moved instantly.

She was still asleep, no doubt, but her subconscious mind had strange workings, just like everyone. A touch meant turn, and apparently to keep turning until you reach a wall-like surface, to then you curl against it into a little ball. A little ball of Lisbon.

He positioned his body to wrap around her, too. Protectively, as if nothing could hurt her. Nothing will, now that his feelings became real.

In the beginning, or a couple days ago, the money got to him. Money to buy everything. When he couldn't buy a human being… he got near angry and vowed to get what he wanted, selfishly. His feelings were growing real, and he was afraid to love another person.

It seems as though Patrick Jane and Teresa Lisbon aren't that different after all.

**YAY! Long chapter, right? I HATE short chapters; basically you wait like a month for a 500 word chap, and you're just like WTF? I get the big chapters, keep you reading for a while. I know the tricks! Anyway, listening to "Defying Gravity" from the musical Wicked while I was finishing up the ending. Beautiful song, and the melody is just... it brings tears to my eyes, no lie! Anyway, I've seen myself on some of your favorites' lists (I stalk every reviewer with an account XD), and I am just beyond words. Thank you so much, I am in no comparison to all those REALLY good writers on here! It makes me feel, well, really good! Again, thank you, and please, review!**


	6. I Can Go the Distance

**Okay, I know I haven't posted in a while. And I feel bad, 'cause for about a third of the time between chapters here I wasn't even working on it. But check out that scrollbar! C'mon, you can't blame me when you take a look at how HUGE this chapter is! So, this chapter is full of stuff, most of it permanent placeholders because my originality has the same value as crap. Anyway, without further adieu, I give you MAGIC KINGDOM!**

1 2 3 4 5 6

"Up and at 'em!"

He ripped open the blackout curtains, shimmying back to hop on Cho's bed like a child. Lisbon stood in the doorway, amused and eating a bowl of Fruit Loops. Her hair was slightly disheveled, but when Jane had commented on her 'nesting a few rats up in there', he earned himself a firm knee to the crotch. Rigsby moaned at the sunlight, kicking until he felt a body.

"It's just me!" van Pelt burst, rubbing her recently-kicked thigh. She had just gotten up from her residence in the middle.

"Grace, I'm sorry!" Rigsby jumped out of bed, attempting to give her a hug. She huffed and walked towards the kitchen, where he followed, still apologizing.

"Cho."

"Cho."

"Cho."

"What the hell, man?" Cho snapped groggily, but with enough energy to open his eyes. He was closest to the window, so sunlight hit him right in the face. He sat up. "What time is it?"

"Time for you to get up."

He threw a pillow at Jane before rolling off the bed.

XXXXXX

"Hey, Jane, what should I wear to Magic Kingdom?"

Jane looked up, in the process of putting on dark, slim jeans. He held up a finger, buttoning them over his boxers. With a single stride he stood next to her, putting his hand to his chin and letting out a 'hmm'. Walking around, he took out the following articles: high heels, underwear, a pair of green earrings and a bottle of whipped cream. He nodded, satisfied, and shook the whipped cream. Lisbon looked at him with pursued lips, annoyed.

"You expect me to wear _this _to Magic Kingdom? Grow up."

"Oh, Magic Kingdom?" Jane asked, suddenly innocent, which was hard to do when his bare torso was just so _there_. "I thought you said 'Magic Kinkdom'. But seriously, this is a family-oriented place, you most definitely shouldn't wear that."

"I'll keep that in mind."

Jane nodded. "Anyway, I would suggest wearing your light green t-shirt with the breast pocket and your white shorts. I'll do your hair."

Lisbon gave him a look. "Since when do you do hair?"

"Since now. Here's your shorts." He threw the tiny, white piece of fabric at her face. She got a hold of them along with the shirt, and headed for the bathroom. Damn it, the team must have split to get dressed, because their bathroom was occupado. Gee, thanks for _asking. _She closed the door to their bedroom with her foot, so whoever came out of _their _bathroom in the hallway couldn't see her changing.

"How about you go out on the balcony, look at the animals," Lisbon suggested, gesturing to the clothes folded on the bed. Jane looked lazily outside, and then appreciatively back to her.

"Nah, I like the view from here."

She crossed her arms. "Look, kid, we can do this the easy way, or the I'll-chop-your-neck-so-hard-you-won't-remember-your-name way. Your choice."

Jane raised an eyebrow. "Kid? I'm nearly 4 years older then you."

She shrugged, beginning to untie the drawstring at her sweatpants. "I'm used to using it on boys younger than me. _Now move._"

He raised his hands in surrender and turned on his heel toward the balcony, closing sliding glass door and walking to the left, where more space could be found. A few moments later, as Jane counted his sixth zebra, she emerged, clad in the small yet cute clothing. He got up, nodded toward the now-empty bathroom, and waltzed inside, grabbing a brush.

Lisbon crossed her arms, rolling her eyes. "I'm only letting you do this because I trust you, you know. If I didn't have any faith in you, I would've kicked you off the balcony for even suggesting it."

"I'm touched."

He yanked the brush through her wild, curled hair, but it went down relatively smoothly. He dropped the brush on the counter and gathered up her locks in his hands, but Lisbon didn't really care to watch her own hair.

His face was barely twisting in thought, like his calculative expression with a hint of warmth. Blank, but thoughtful at the same time. She resisted the urge to trail her eyes down his defined chest in the reflection; she would never hear the end to _that _one. He caught her eyes in the mirror and winked.

"Okay."

She looked in the mirror, and raised her eyebrows. He had styled her hair into a taught bun; it rested on the top back of her head, and it was so tightly twisted that it didn't droop. Like he placed a ball in it and wrapped her hair around that. Her bangs and a few curly fly-aways framed her face, and the innocent hairstyle itself reminded her of something. Oh, yeah. Tinker bell.

"Thanks, Jane. Now put on some damn clothes."

Chuckling, he slid through the bathroom door and across the hall, to the bedroom. He already had on the nearly black, form-fitting jeans, so he came back with a faded blue shirt with black silhouettes of roofs near the bottom, but mainly a large clock tower –Big Ben- in the middle, the shape of a boy and a tiny dot standing on one of the arms. "Peter Pan."

"Yeah, I got that." He had been able to tame his hair a bit while in there, but she couldn't help and fix it even more, patting down a few Alfalfa hairs that were out of place. Satisfied, almost like it was a repayment for the good job he did on her hair, she turned around and squeezed some minty toothpaste on a baby blue toothbrush. Jane followed suit, separated at the other sink, and they both started scrubbing their teeth with the bristly utensil.

"Sho how big ish Machic Kingcdum?" Her words were mashed up from the toothbrush. He understood and answered.

"Pretchy big. A chon mowr ridesh ten Epcot, but shtill hash a pretchy lerng entchrance. Ya' walk a whil, then ya' get choo te ridesh." He spit out the remaining toothpaste in his mouth into the sink. She did, too, and wiped her mouth on a hand towel. He used the other clothe and watched her take out some of her makeup.

"But, yeah, like I said, the rides are a bit far out. You have to go over a few necks in the path." His eyes then got mischievous as he walked slowly towards her, right as she finished tapping on her eye shadow. "Speaking of necks…"

He laid his hands softly on her hips and pulled up, placing her on top of his own sneaker-clad shoes. As he did, she emitted a soft gasp, understood what he was getting at, and firmly tried to stomp his feet. The only problem was that she was barefoot, so all she ended up doing was making the bottom of her feet bruise.

He wrapped his arms around her waist and nuzzled her neck. Lisbon realized in horror that, in the reflection on the mirror, they truly resembled an intimate, loving couple, his arms pulling her closer affectionately and her hands on his, trying to pull him away but frozen in the moment and being shown as tenderness. His strength around her wasn't terrifying; in fact, it was more like warmth enfulging her. But that didn't change how irritated her was at the moment. A thought raked her brain, and she propped her chin up in defiance.

"You know, Walter is never this controlling."

She could feel his jaw flex against her bare neck, but despite any distaste, he playfully scoffed. "Controlling? This is what being loved feels like; he's obviously doing something wrong."

"He's doing nothing wrong."

"Has he ever done this?"

He slid his hands, ever so slowly, to the hem of her shirt, toying with the seam. He dragged his hands under, to her stomach, sending dire wherever his fingertips touched her skin. Right when Lisbon came to her senses and readied herself to elbow him again, his fingers danced at her sides. A giggle bubbled up, and he grinned against her skin.

She couldn't believe it; _Jane _was _tickling _her. She tried to swat his hands away, covering her other hand over her own mouth to keep from laughing. She wiggled and squirmed, and managed to elbow him in his nearly healed rib. He winced and immediately jumped back, making her stumble with him as well.

In the end, she ended up, well, on top of him into the bathtub. They made a huge noise, too, and they heard the team question each other in the kitchen.

"What was that?"

Jane quickly slid the curtain over, trying and succeeding to regulate his breathing. Lisbon, who was nearly blushing out of her skin, was trying to find a way to escape. If she got up now, it would make too much noise. Van Pelt and the others were looking through their room, nearing the bathroom by the sound of it. Jane had been smart to close the curtain; if the team caught them in this compromising position, bricks would be shat. He took a silent, deep breath, but froze.

Lisbon was pressed up against him, her… chest up against his and her hips on his waist, legs entangled. The once-cold tub was now reflecting the fever, a sheen layer of sweat covering them in just a minute. The hand that covered her back was like a raging inferno, his clean breath on her lips turning the cool mint smell into a spiked drink, surging her awake. _Everything _was on fire. Her eyes met his, and she tried to decipher if he felt the same sort of magic as she did, the spark of wildfire inside of her. Did he?

Almost as if he could hear her thoughts, he furrowed his eyebrows as if in thought, and then squeezed his eyes shut. The soft moan that escaped his lips was hint enough of what was going through his head. His arms were wrapped around her, and he bucked his hips slightly, pulling her closer to him. A torrent of liquid heat shot through her body, and her hands reached for his hair…

No, she couldn't think like this. She needed to _get away_. But, instead of pulling away like she should have, she contemplated for a quick second. This whole trip, Jane had been cruel, horribly jealous and forcefully throwing himself onto her. Because of his certain skills, he never let her get her own revenge on him, always there at the last second to stop her. Or scare her away. Maybe…

She spread her legs to border his hips, bowing down to hotly kiss his neck. A barely audible growl sounded from his chest, and he lunged her forward to capture her lips. She pulled back before he could touch her. Still cloudy from want, he pulled her down to him once again, and she hissed with finality, "No."

His eyes shot open, boring into hers.

Footsteps entered the bathroom, but only, it seemed, Grace's. A quick sweep, and then she left.

They didn't listen to the words that she yelled to the others. Jane was too busy glaring at Lisbon, accusation and furious calculation in his blue eyes.

"Teresa, I want you to kiss me. Right now."

XXXXXX

"Oh, hey guys," van Pelt said, right when the pair came into the kitchen. "I heard a commotion in the bathroom, so I checked it out. With the make-up and stuff I knew that you were somewhere in there, but I didn't know where Jane was…?" She seemed almost… nervous? A blush crept up her rosy cheeks. Tsk tsk, Grace, get your mind out of the gutter. Or, at least that's what Jane _would _have said, if he was in a better mood.

It was unfair to be cruel to the young woman, it wasn't her fault. Putting on a smile, he let his words be light and innocent. "Out on the balcony. I wanted to see the animals."

She nodded widely, letting out a puff of air. "Oh, gosh, why didn't I think of that. Yeah, okay. Rigsby and Cho are checking out the gift shop downstairs, and I told them that we would meet them. Shall we…?"

"We shall!" Lisbon piped up, grabbing her phone off the counter and stuffing it in her pocket. As they left she glanced back at Jane, but he was closing the door and avoiding her gaze at all costs. She bit her lip.

After she had refused his question, he realized what has been going on. Lisbon was humoring him, without any want and cruel intentions. He had slid out from under her, punched the tub smoothly, denting his own hand painfully, and quietly left, going outside to cool off. Lisbon had finished her make-up, trying not to think of him. More and more, it seemed, Lisbon was becoming braver against him, yet feeling more sad whenever her plan backfired. She had always cared about him, very much so, but she never thought that it would breach past friendship.

No, no, it _wouldn't. _She couldn't afford it.

'_Afford it?' _Lisbon asked herself as they walked into the warm, breezy air and down the side of the building towards the bus stop. _'Have I become so shallow as to calculate love?' _She didn't even contradict the love notion. Something was there, and she came to terms that it was so similar to love that it could be called that. But no, of course, definitely _not _love.

Of course not, that would be the ultimate surrender.

She was _not _going to lose.

XXXXXX

Cho took pictures when they got to the park, methodically. Jane was leading, and Lisbon was flanking the back, looking at the large lake beside the huge, slightly crowded path to the entrance. It looked like some sort of ferry service, and it looked a bit crowded, too. Like it was one of the rides. Lisbon shrugged it off as they all walked through the no-bag entrance.

After quickly sliding their cards in the admission, they saw a beautiful display. Fluffy grass decorated with flowers, forming a Mickey Mouse and tilted to give guests a full few. Above that stood a train station, ancient-looking but sturdy, tracks branching out from either side into lush trees. Below that, on either side of the flower arrangement, were wide walkways into the park itself. Really, they were small enough to be walkways but long enough to be counted as tunnels, a brief period of shade from the sun before emerging on the other side. Jane turned, walking backwards, and smile. Lisbon noticed that he didn't put his heart into it, not even half.

"Let's take the train to Frontierland, where we can go to the other two lands around it. After those, there is a Mexican restaurant across the Pirates of the Caribbean ride. No reservations today; we will eat what we can." He pursed his lips for a moment. "Not that it's inedible, just nothing special."

Rigsby jumped to touch a slight dent on the wall of the 'tunnel' as they went under it. "You know me; food is food."

Cho nudged him playfully, his newly emerged smile on his face as van Pelt hung her arm from his broad shoulder, smiling like a group of friends. Since they were all otherwise occupied, Lisbon, passed them to get to Jane. Pausing for a split second to grab a map from one of the stacks neatly propped on each side of the walkway, she folded it up in one hand and reached out to his shoulder with the other. He spoke before they even made contact.

"What you did was inexcusable, you know."

She sighed, stuffing the map in her pocket. "I know." They climbed up the stone steps, over the rushing crowd, and made it to the second floor, where they blended with the small crowd of people, who were also waiting. Their all-mighty card couldn't make the train move faster. She then murmured, very quietly: "Does this mean that you're disinterested now?"

"Excuse us, please," Jane said immediately to the others, his face cool. "I wanted to show Lisbon the view to the castle from here."

"Sure, Jane."

Jane smoothly, yet firmly, placed a hand on the Lisbon's' back, guiding her. They walked through the small, air-conditioned inside of the gift shop, which was nearly miniscule, and out the other side. A white railing kept them from falling over as it hung over the emerging people, very crowded streets with small buildings framing the land. A magnificent castle glimmered straight ahead, though a good ways' out. Surprisingly, no one else was with them on the small area.

Jane stared at her, the sunlight gleaming off his features. His eyes were more fiery than crashing, flickering blue orbs. He, very slightly, shook his head. "Never, no matter how disappointed I am with you, will I _ever _be disinterested."

She shook her head. "What I did was _wrong, _Jane." She turned her head from him, out to the shining castle. "And I feel guilty, guilty as hell, for doing that to you."

He sat down on one of the patio chairs near them, watching the train move on the opposite side of the park. They had about seven minutes, give or take, at this rate and distance. He then looked up at her, staring into her mossy emerald eyes.

"Lisbon." He was calm and collected, reaching out to grab her hand. He was trying to act nonchalant, eyes back to lazily scanning the people below, but she knew that he was quite interested in their conversation. "You are… I am irrevocably in love with you. It's my fault for pressuring you while I couldn't control myself, and you did what you needed to mentally, after these stressful past few days." She furrowed her eyebrows, and he suddenly stood up from his seat, finding her face to stare meaningfully into it and run a warm hand down her cheek, pulling a response out from her.

"Look, Jane, I care about you too." She stared back into his eyes, but she removed his hand from her face. "Maybe even love you, but not in the way you would hope I would. I can't… mentally love you, Jane. All of my thoughts in the open, like I'm another book for you to read…" She stepped back, pressing her hand against his chest as she did so he wouldn't follow. "You just think that you love me, but you don't. No, I'm just someone to fill in the void. If I-."

"You think you mean that little to me?" Jane said in a slow, agonizing tone, ignoring her arm to step even closer. His calm demeanor fell, eyes wide and incredulous as his broad body blocked the sun from her. "I _am_ in love with you, _Teresa. _That is never going to change. Ever." He backed her into a corner, blocking out anyone that might look up to the balcony or through the gap from the other side of the small building.

"Jane, you're angry. You don't know what you're saying."

"The hell I don't!" He trailed his hands firmly underneath her shirt, winding them around her bare waist, closer to him until she could barely breathe. "I have _not _been clear enough with you over these past couple of days, and it's about time I stop playing games."

He unwound his arms to quickly run them to her bare thighs, hitching them over his hips. Using the brick wall as leverage, he grinded up, so she was only barely higher than his own face. His words began to grow quiet, voice cracking with strain. "I love you with every ounce that I am, and if you don't believe me, I'll prove it to you."

He crushed his lips to hers', intruding her mouth with his hot tongue before she could refuse him. _Oh my God. _Her hand grasped at his soft hair, but she couldn't decide whether to pull him away or shove his mouth more forcefully to hers. Her other hand clawed at his biceps, to swat him away, but that only made him angrier and press closer to her.

His eyes were closed, different from the first time he kissed her. He fiercely bit her lip, not hard enough to break the skin but enough to send a jolt throughout her body. The train blew its' whistle, but it was too far away for Jane to even remotely care. The sweltering sun didn't make his forceful condition any better, only fueling the desire to explore her mouth more feverently.

Eventually, his wandering tongue got its fill. Lisbon, who was still faintly trying to fight him back, had used all the strength she had not to participate. Even though she didn't kiss him back, it didn't mean she didn't enjoy it. Her fingers were still tangled into his hair, pressing him to her, and her thighs were vices, locking onto his slim waist so he couldn't move away from her. Not that he didn't have a smug reaction to that fact.

Soon, his mouth became less hungry, retreating his tongue to make it slower and tantalizing, calm enough to let him crack open his eyes and bore into her emerald ones'. His lips died down completely as he realized that there was a reason that she didn't kiss him back.

"I'm… sorry," Jane muttered against her lips, gently dropping her now-bruised thighs. Hopefully it was faint enough that the team wouldn't be able to see it. "I-I don't know what came over me. I promise, I won't ever kiss you like that again." He pulled away from her completely, taking long strides to the balcony and let the slight wind rid him of the redness of his cheeks and, more importantly, make sure she didn't have to see the confusion and hurt on his face.

Lisbon wasn't really sure if she didn't want him to kiss her like that again.

XXXXXX

Jane was sure that their companions didn't suspect a thing when they returned to the station, even though both of their lips were slightly pink and swollen. He still acted the usual way; invading space, being irritating, and overall arrogant. When the train arrived just seconds later, they slid in beside the team on the low-key train, Lisbon flanking the outside. She pulled out her phone, but not to text Walter, to Jane's surprise (not that he would ever admit that). Instead, she opened up a games tab and tapped on hangman.

"Pick two-player," Jane murmured in her ear, and without another thought she agreed, typing in their names under the multiplayer option. The train lurched forward, and after a random pick, Jane had the first turn. "Here."

Without having to familiarize himself with the phone, he typed in the letters rather quickly, giving the phone back to Lisbon after hitting 'enter'. It was a short sentence, and after a few guesses Lisbon got it. _'Did you hate me?'_

He was talking about the events that occurred on the balcony, just minutes before. She clasped her phone shut and turned her face up to look at him.

"No."

His hand slipped over hers', and he sighed at her straightforward tone, but it was more relieved than anything. "That's good to hear."

She shrugged. "I guess… I'm kind of tired of hating you. Not that I ever did, but…"

He nodded, and his kind smile willed her to continue.

"I…" Her voice became a whisper. "Care about you. Like love, but not love."

Jane resisted the urge to contradict her, like he always did. Of course it was love. It was only a matter of time before she exactly came to that solution. Until then…

Jane grinned, leaning over to press a silky-sweet kiss to her cheek. "I understand."

His lips were warm and thoughtful against her skin. A blush crept up her cheeks, and she shoved him away slightly to look away, out to the passing trees with sudden interest. "Stop with the kissing, please."

He leaned back, so far that he was nearly touching van Pelt, but despite the space between them he couldn't help but tease her a bit. "If you want to take control, be my guest. I wasn't aware that you were a… topper. In the bedroom, I mean."

Red. All that covered her cheeks were red these days. The train lurched to a stop, and she jumped up from her seat, stumbling off the train and through a pathway of 'red clay', layered into a sort of mountain that reminded her of termite hills. Jane chuckled far behind her.

When she broke out of the mountain-like trail in into the wide open, her mouth dropped. So. Many. People. Her logical streak overruled her dignity, and she chose to stay close to the exit, where she wouldn't get lost. And she waited, giving her poor cheeks time to cool off, leaning against the soft red structures, people breezing past her from the exit just a few yards to the left.

When Lisbon had enough dignity (and paleness) to her face to look up without feeling ashamed, she managed to make her time useful. Pulling her map from her pocket, she unfolded it and ran her finger slowly to the castle in the middle. She looked up and, straight ahead, was the left side of the shimmering building, spiked in delicate tufts at the top. There were so many different buildings around it… how the hell could Jane memorize it with just a glance, probably taking a few seconds tops? She shook her head, mystified.

How the whole thing worked was, in a way, simple. Convenient, only seeming difficult from how many rides there were. The castle was smack in the middle, and trees filled any space that wasn't already occupied. There was a line from the entrance, which she supposed was the 'road' that was narrow between two parallel lines of buildings, the same short height to seem symmetrical, mostly made up of shops. That was what she and Jane were overlooking on the balcony where they kissed.

She clutched the map to her chest for a brief second, out of embarrassment and maybe a bit of longing at the thought of what happened out there. No, no longing. At all. Or, at least, she _hoped _not.

She sighed and pulled the map more in front of her to review it again. She needed to get herself together, Damnit! With another sigh, she reviewed the map once more. It was actually quite interesting, like reading the legend at the beginning of a storybook, the map of a mystical kingdom.

Her finger touched a spot, nearly as large as the castle, but obviously only by width considering how it didn't seem to be a building at all. A brown-ish spot, in the middle of a round brush of green bushes, like a sort of shrine. It was right in front of the castle, several branches leading off around it. What was–?

"A bronze statue of Mickey Mouse and Walt Disney," a smooth voice said from beside her, and she jumped. Then she realized who it was, the cocky undertone to his voice, and she rolled her eyes. "Fun fact about Walt: he was actually afraid of mice."

Rigsby looked over the front, reviewing the map upside-down. "Holy crap, this place is _huge._" His mouth was hitched slightly open in surprise. "I thought that Jane was making everything up. I kinda want to memorize everything, to get the feel of the land, you know."

"Me too," van Pelt said lightly, peeking over Jane's shoulder.

Cho kept silent, but he was right beside Rigsby from curiosity. Jane sighed, but it wasn't irritated at all. More of a thoughtful one, a light rumble along with the air.

"Alright kids, I'll show you everything you need to know when we eat later. Maybe Hollywood Studios tomorrow, before we leave. But, in the meantime…" He grinned at them all, and pointed away from the castle, a 90-degree turn to the right. A rickety entrance that was past a small bridge over rushing water, the line to it overflowing into the street. "Who's ready to get _splashed?"_

XXXXXX

The hype over Splash Mountain was very understandable, Lisbon mused, trying to wring out the flyaway strands that were loosened from her bun. Jane nudged her temple with his bristly cheek playfully (Which he needed to shave), his thin, wet shirt sticking to him in _all _the right places. Rigsby was staring blankly at van Pelts' far more soaked shirt, which stuck pretty significantly to her as well. Cho pushed him out of the way before he did something stupid.

What you rode in was, basically, a log. Of course, it was probably made out of anything _but _wood, what with the lack of mold on it's nearly constant submergence in water. In it was four neat rows, two seats per row. It mostly took place inside, with a big 'OMG let's erupt down a mountain' finale at the end. That's the only time they ever got _really _wet, thinking back to the rocky ride. The whole interior was sing-songy, Georgian and very country. It was all about a rabbit being followed by a very hungry fox and bear, the animals magically evolving the ability to sing 'Zippity Doo Da'. At the end, whad'ya know, CRASH! little rabbit would fall into the briar patch right as they rushed down the 'Splash Mountain'. After that, they smoothly glided into port and exited with grins on their faces.

"That was fun!" Jane said conversationally, running a hand through his hair to remove all the excess water. His answer was a mutual shrug from Lisbon.

"It was alright… Why couldn't it have gone upside down?" Her mouth hitched slightly into a pout, which Jane found adorable.

"Dear, considering that we are on planet Earth (and specifically _on_ water), gravity kind of makes that rather impossible." He patted her arm, and she swatted his hand away. He narrowed his eyes slightly.

"Using my powers," Rigsby said loudly, holding his hands to his temples overdramatically. "I pronounce that the next ride in Frontierworld will be… Big Thunder Mountain Railroad!"

"Couple things here," Jane began, watching counting off on his fingers and not trying to hide his amused smile. "First, it's 'Frontierland', along with 'Fantasyland', 'Tomorrowland', etcetera. Second, you're _facing _Thunder Mountain and you didn't even bother to close your eyes."

He shoved the blond lightly, chuckling. "Psh, dude, I knew that."

"Right."

They began the small trek to Runaway Railroad, which also had a pretty full capacity. It only took less than a minute to reach it, and their golden cards were ready when they arrived at, oh my God, _another _rickety wooden entrance! Sarcasm, obviously. It was Frontierland after all, so why wouldn't everything be made of wood?

"You lead," Jane murmured to Cho, slowly creeping past the others to get to Lisbon. The path was considerable short, but it took a bit slower from angling up to the sky and then back down multiple times. Not steep, but enough to annoy certain people, like Lisbon.

"Just a test here…" Jane began, and reached out to grasp her hand. She pulled it away from him as if it burned, and soft blush coating her cheeks. He sighed heavily.

"What's wrong with me touching you?"

"Shh!" She hissed, the sound of chugging trains nearing closer to them. "Not so loud, the team might hear!"

After a few moments, he suddenly chuckled. Despite her warnings, he clasped back onto her hand, firm enough so she couldn't escape. "Rigsby likes the fact that you found someone, Cho knew the moment I met you (despite me being married at the time) that we would eventually get together, and van Pelt couldn't be happier. I'm sorry, but were you worried about their reactions?"

The train was in front of them now, and Jane whirled her around to clamp his hands on her shoulders, meeting her eyes. "Look at me, Teresa. Whatever's holding you back, it's part of my… _quest _to take it away, bring you closer to me. Which means a lot more touching… just a warning to you." His mouth formed into her favorite crooked smile, and he gently pressed his lips to hers.

His lips were warm, so much that she felt cold after he pulled away a split second away. He grabbed her hand once more, and she disregarded the urge to flee as he dragged her onto the very unsafe-looking train cart.

XXXXXX

Lisbon was terrified the _whole freaking ride. _Not because of the ride itself; it was faster than Splash Mountain, which she really enjoyed. It climbed up, but instead of going straight down, it took a ton of steep turns as it chugged down the red clay, which expanded beside the ride to let the people on the normal train, like they had, exit or enter. It was kind of funny; a runaway train attraction right next to the normal one, like it was taunting it from how much faster it was.

But no, that's not why she was terrified. Imagine this: several rows of two-per-seats, with a single lap bar for each row. Now, Jane wasn't fat, not in the slightest. But he was broad, so his hips were nearly two times as big as her waist. Sure, it fit him pretty snug, tight against his dark slim jeans. On her, though, it hung above her three inches away, making it pretty easy for her to _slip away. _So, of course, her thoughts weren't exactly on the positive side at the moment.

Jane shifted beside her. "Hold my hand, Lisbon."

She looked at him like he was crazy. "No!" An earlier event came to mind in her outburst. "And you said that you wouldn't kiss me again, jerk."

He had sighed gently, as if he were explaining a simple math problem to a little girl. "If you really think back, you would know that I said 'I won't ever kiss you _like that _again', not that I wouldn't kiss you again. Now that it's settled, hold my hand before you have a panic attack."

She had, of course, rolled her eyes, and the train began to warm below them, about to start up. "Yes, Jane, because if I begin to fall off, the strength in your arm will be very helpful."

He leaned over as far as the bar could let him, brushing her ear with his lips. "I won't ever let go."

She leaned her head back, right as the train had lurched forward, and had audibly groaned. But she did accept his offer.

Now she reviewed her palm, and saw that she did more than accept his offer. Right when the train went over a hump, about to rush down, she traded his hand for his entire arm, wrapping her arms around it tightly and holding on, her head tight against his shoulder. As they walked out, he held out his arm to her once again, face innocent. "You can hold my arm again, you know; I know how fondyou are of them." Only one word could describe his face: _annoying. _

She narrowed her eyes at him before spinning on her heal, stalking ahead. Over her shoulder, she snapped, "And you wonder why I'm always angry at you!"

A chuckle behind her. "No I don't!"

She reached van Pelt, and immediately matched the rhythm of her stride. "Jerk," she muttered under her breath.

Van Pelt looked at her with worried eyes. "Anything happen?"

The brunette ran her fingers through her bangs, mussing it up before smoothing it down again. They had no idea where they were going now, so Jane would have to lead them soon. "Jane is just being Jane."

The man himself nudged in between the two women to get to the front. He was backpedaling with unnatural ease, weaving through people without a glance. "Alright, we are going to go over the bridge in front of Splash Mountain, take a turn to the left, into Liberty Square. After the Haunted Mansion there, we will go back to where that bridge is and take another left into Adventureland, to Pirates of the Caribbean, and onto Tortuga Tavern, the Mexican food place. We clear?"

The mutual 'yes' allowed him to turn back around and lead them away. Van Pelt gave her a reassuring smile, but Lisbon didn't blame her for being silent, what with Jane right there. Trying to keep the awkwardness away, Lisbon piped up. "So Jane, what's the Haunted Mansion? Is it scary?"

He slowed down to walk next to her, both talking to van Pelt and her. "The Haunted Mansion isn't scary, as much as it is ridiculous. Sure, it has an eerie exterior _and _interior, but it's the right enough of scary to balance out how silly it is." He shrugged slightly, stepping off the bridge in front of Splash Mountain, taking a sharp veer to the left and past the old-western buildings. "It's kind of like Spaceship Earth yesterday; it's a tour, but without the cool touch screens. So it's pretty slow, nice and refreshing from our time baking in the sun."

Lisbon noticed that his shirt was, thankfully, not sticking to his chest anymore when he commented on how hot it was. Jane eyed her shirt with a raised eyebrow, voice murmuring. "I'm a bit depressed that _your _shirt has dried, I might add."

She furrowed her eyebrows, looking down at her faded, pea-green shirt. "It was ever wet?"

"Yes, and…" His voice was only audible to her, leaning over to whisper in her ear. "It stuck to you in _all _the right places, my dear."

After contemplating his words for a small moment, she suddenly began to giggle. Jane watched her curiously, a bit of a frown on his lips. His voice was louder. "I was hoping that you would have blushed."

She shook her head, suddenly braver than before. "Well, after Splash Mountain, that's _exactly, _word for word, what I thought about you."

He incredulously raised an eyebrow. "You thought that about me? And you said it out loud without blushing? I'd be lying if I said that I wasn't a bit unhappy at the fact."

"Why are you so obsessed with me blushing? I mean, it's just patches of heat."

He had that teasing glint in his eye. "Actually, the color itself is from red blood cells exploding. But your theory works, too."

A sign named 'Liberty Square' came into sight, more pilgrim-ish than the wild-west town behind them. It was like they were back in the times of the Puritans, and Lisbon half-expected Andrew Jackson to come trotting along and share a drink with one of the bystanders. Why would the Haunted Mansion be _here?_

They sharply turned to the left again, along a river. They seemed to be trailing along a river, toward a secluded corner covered in trees. It seemed ominous, so Lisbon figured that when they got closer it would probably be their destination. The whole dark feel to that particular spot made her yawn herself.

"Let me get this straight," Jane said, eyeing her teasingly. "You're yawning in Disney World?"

She shrugged, rubbing her bare neck. "I guess I slept wrong."

'Really? You slept like a baby in my arms last night', is what he wanted to say, but he had taken extra care to be out of the bed by the time she woke up, lounging on the balcony in the crisp morning air, before the sun really had a chance to heat him up. "Huh, I must've not noticed. You were still sleeping when I got up, so I just removed the pillows so you could have more room." His lie was nice and smooth. She nodded slightly, an embarrassed thanks.

Rigsby 'awed' from behind them. "Is _that _the Haunted Mansion?"

A withered building loomed past the trees, tucked snuggly away into the trees. It was dreadful, the lines beginning far from the building itself and the whole thing just _scary. _She resisted the urge to clutch Janes' hand, obvious that if she did, she would never hear the end of it.

"So… It's so scary that it's silly, huh, Jane?" Cho deadpanned, snapping a good picture of the mansion before continuing with the team. Jane pointed an accusing finger at him.

"Hey now, I never said that. I put the 'silly' and the 'scary' separately, mind you. They don't just join together on their own." He scoffed.

Cho shrugged, looking around lazily, the universal signal for 'I don't care'. Jane rolled his eyes, but then moved to sling his arm around Lisbon's shoulders. She dodged it, eyeing him warily. "What is it?"

He sighed heavily, showing his annoyance. "I was just going to ask if you would like to ride with me. You seem a bit… scared."

She straightened bravely. "I'm not scared, jackass. I'm tired. I was actually thinking of getting a cart to myself, maybe stealing a nap. If it's-."

Jane shook his head, cutting her off. "Trust me, Lisbon. If you ride this by yourself, you'll be hyperventilating before the good part even shows up. You'll be _scared._" He cocked his head, lowering his voice into a thoughtful murmur. "Let me ride with you."

His meaningful eyes made it even harder to disagree. "No, Jane. At least one of the team always sits alone, and it makes me feel bad. I'm perfectly content with sleeping this ride out, getting some shut-eye. I won't get scared." She shrugged, hiding her wariness as she looked back up to the corner.

He sighed. "You're going to regret it, I guarantee it."

They sidestepped the lines, heading past the awaiting people to the employee. "Look, I'm pretty tough, if you can recall _my job." _She nearly laughed at his slightly irritated expression. "Jane, face it; you're not always right."

XXXXXX

Damnit, Jane was right.

First, it had been innocent enough; A plastic, black 'buggy', nice and compact that had enough room for two people. A simple lap bar, but it was like Spaceship Earth; it didn't jerk around. Ignoring the frustrated looks from Jane, she jumped into a separate buggy and relaxed, the air conditioning cooling her overheated face. The interior was even gloomier than the inside, dim without the sun shining on them, but that didn't really bother her.

Then she actually got to the ride itself, and grudgingly admitted that Jane was right, after all. Doorknobs jiggling, the spooky narrator chilling her spine, demonic pictures in shaking picture frames. She ended up curling into a ball, off-tuned maniacal laughter surrounding her. She tried to calm herself down, so she wouldn't be really worked up when she got off, because she _so _didn't need Jane teasing her right now. A shiver ran down her spine when she got a glimpse of ghosts dancing below them, and had to cover her eyes whenever they entered an attic full of memories and pictures of a ghostly woman _killing _off all of her past _husbands. _

Eventually, after a graveyard scene with goblins springing up in front of her and ghastly ghosts teasing around her, she finally sat up straight. She wouldn't want Jane finding her in the fetal position, near tears. So, after 'hitchhiking ghosts' teased around with her reflection, they reached the end. Unfortunately Jane was one ahead of her, and walked next to her buggy until her own metal band opened.

She didn't have time to get out on her own. Grabbing her hand, he pulled her up, only pausing to mutter something in Chos' ear. After his firm nod, Jane dragged her off of the moving platform and onto the gloomy floor once again. Workers that took their job WAY too seriously waved them off, eyes glazed and bodies stiff. She tried to copy their stance, straightening her back and raising her chin as he jerked her forward. He somehow found a small section outside of the 'Hall of Presidents' (A show about, well, the presidents), past the bathrooms and around another corner.

Nudging Lisbon against the brick, he pressed his hands on either side of the wall for support, while also trapping her. The cutoff to the street was behind them, though no one ventured this far, and trees were beside them. A wicked, know-it-all grin grew on his face, so close to hers, and his eyes were teasing. Lisbon grew impatient.

"So, you brought me all the way over here to _smile?" _She asked incredulously, so close that her arms brushed his chest when she crossed them.

He shrugged, which looked awkward with his arms straight in front of him, pressed against the brick on either side of her slender neck. "No, I brought you out here to compensate for my absence on the ride, my dear."

And, instead of laughing at her or taunting 'I told you so!', he shifted his arms to curl around her shoulders, pressing her face into his chest. "I'm sorry for leaving you alone like that."

She sighed, flustered but nevertheless still slightly annoyed. "Jane, you have no reason to be sorry, if this was even that big of a deal. _I _made you ride separate, away from me so I could sleep, _which I did."_

A chuckle rumbled beside her ear. "Lisbon, do you really think that I would believe that for even a second?"

Her lower lip stuck out, and she felt a slight relief that he couldn't see her. "No."

"Well, alright then. The reason I'm sorry is not because I should have forced myself to ride with you, but the fact that you _were _frightened in the first place." His hand patted the hair above her bun soothingly.

She pulled back to look at him. "Jane, I'm a grown woman. I think I can handle-."

"It's my job to make you as happy as possible on this trip. I can't do that if you won't let me any sadness for my mistakes." His cool breath washed her forehead as he sighed, sliding his arms downward until his hands folded at her waist. Her back was bowed against the brick, which wasn't really that uncomfortable.

"I'm perfectly fine. Sure, I was a bit spooked, but it's not like I'll have nightmares about it." She, cautiously, reach a hand up to his face, cradling his cheek. He leaned into it, and sighed again.

"You know what, I'm fine too. Just needed a bit of time alone with you, that's all." His voice was gentle and smooth, holding her gaze with his watery blue eyes. Before she knew it, he was swooping down and pressing his lips against hers.

He was smooth, like slow moving lava against her lips. He gently pried her lips open, slipping his tongue into her mouth and running it over the ridges at the top of her mouth. She wasn't angry with him, but she still couldn't kiss him back. Not without feeling that sense of lose, without being _truly _happy. Eventually he broke apart, eyes full of a want that he was trying to hide, along with the tiniest bit of hurt contributed with her lack of response. But then he smiled.

"Come on, I told Cho to start heading to Pirates. If we start now, I can get us there _before _them." Linking their fingers together, he pulled her back around the corner, off the steps and into the crowd at a brisk, comfortable speed. Instead of turning right on the main path, he went straight, past the castle and into a small branch. Taking a sharp right, he walked under the 'Adventureland' sign.

"Bingo," she heard him mutter under his breath, and she had to move her feet quickly to match his long strides. A random thought came to mind.

"Hey, Jane?" She asked, squeezing his hand slightly. His head turned immediately, though he still kept his uncanny sense of direction.

"Yes?"

"Why did you… choose me?" She was trying to talk as mild as possible, flickering her eyes to the path before them and back to him. "I mean, there are a bunch of other willing women that would take you in a heartbeat. Why me, if I'm just going to put up a fight?"

He wasn't angry, like when Lisbon had asked 'Why me?' to him yesterday, around the time they were checking in to the hotel. He just quirked his mouth, yet it held no emotion, like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Because I love you, not them."

She rolled her eyes, but still felt troubled. "It would be a lot easier on you if you didn't."

"We both know that I rarely ever choose the easy way. And the outcome in this particular 'quest' is you, the prize. Which I wouldn't lose to anyone." He nudged her with his shoulder playfully, enjoying her blush.

"Alright, charmer," she muttered, defeated. "What is this Pirates of the Caribbean ride, anyway?"

He took his hand away to scratch his head, which freed hers' to stuff in her pockets subconsciously. He continued around another curve. "It's a fun boat ride, only one drop in the entire thing. It's supposed to be funny, realistic pirate automatons and detailed interior. And there it is."

Nearly to the left, Lisbon eyed the building curiously. It had the sign on the front, along with a pirates flag. It didn't look like it was from some sort of play or little kid movie, no. It was the 'real deal', battered and torn from 'war'. The team showed up in the opposite direction, right as they showed up, and they joined together.

"Over there is where we're going to eat," Jane said, pointing to an open-seated building across the 'street'. The only cover was, well, a wooden cover that hung over the whole thing. There was a sign at the top that said 'Tortuga Tavern'. "It matches the pirate-y feel, doesn't it?"

Cho shrugged, and snapped a picture of it. "Sure."

Turning back around, he flashed the worker his card and let the team enter before them, into a space beside the real line. He placed a hand on the small of Lisbon's back, seemingly harmless, really. Except for the fact that his thumb sometimes wandered up a bit, running over her bra strap.

She removed his arm briskly, keeping her hand on his wrist. "Alright, no more touching."

He scoffed. "I can touch whenever I want. _Wherever _I want, too. Remember?" He slid his hand up from her hold on his wrist, back to guiding her with his wandering hand. It seemed as though he was in _that _mood. It was making her uncomfortable, how close he was. His finger dug slightly under the strap, as if to unhook it, and Lisbon roughly threw his arm to the side.

"What's with you?" She burst, yet still not enough to rise over the talking inside. "I'm tired of you thinking that you're so 'superior', enough to rule over my life more than _I _can myself. It's frustrating, like we're back at the office again and you're annoying the suspects." Her arms waved slightly, a sure sign of irritation. "Think about this; the way it is now, it's like I'm the suspect! Leave. Me. Alone."

Jane looked wide-eyed at her, mouth slightly agape. And then he turned apologetic, remorseful even. "Do you really want me to leave you alone?"

She rolled her eyes. Was her outburst for nothing? "Yes!"

He averted his eyes forward, like it stung just to look at her. He began to walk faster, to get to the front of the group, away from her. "Okay. Whatever you want."

She ignored the surge of pain at his expression, locked off from any type off hurt. She ignored how briskly he walked away from her, as if he was escaping.

And she definitely ignored how cold she was without him by her side.

XXXXXX

He took the whole thing pretty far out.

He chose Rigsby or van Pelt to blabber with, and he sat all the way on the other side of the little boat, all to avoid her. The seats were about the size of the ones on the train, from the beginning, so they could all fit in one row. She caught him watching her, once, when the ride was jerking forward, to see her reaction. He hadn't averted his gaze; he kept on staring at her with those swirling blue eyes. Before any words could be spoken she turned her head, breaking the stare and ultimately his hypnotic hold. She nearly scoffed; it was his fault, anyway.

Now they were cruising in a raggedy village, Jack Sparrow popping up in barrels and other hiding places while 'A Pirates Life for Me' played. Right when they had entered the ride, after a few dark warnings from Blackbeard, they slid down a long ramp, smaller than Splash Mountain but around the same speed. Afterwards, it was really fun, like the inside Splash Mountain but smoother and without the talking animals. Eventually, the ride ended after a drunk (Was he ever sober?) Jack Sparrow sang the pirate song. She took a picture of him with her phone; she had to admit, he was one of her favorite celebrities.

Lisbon got off first when the boat lurched to the stop, followed by Rigsby, Cho, van Pelt, then _him, _who was patiently waiting for her to say something to him, she could feel it_. _She wasn't going to be the one to cave and apologize (For no reason!), nope. He just had to deal with it.

They kind of switched around, so that Jane was leading and she was near the back. He went straight across the street, and the restaurant was filled with the smell of Mexican food. They ordered, and Jane excused himself to go find them a table. Then the team turned on her.

"What happened?"

She rolled her eyes. "Nothing. He's just being a big baby."

"No, he seems really upset," van Pelt said slowly, playing with her fingers. "We don't mean to be nosy, but…"

"No, I mean to be nosy," Cho deadpanned, crossing his arms. "What did you say."

It wasn't a question. "I told him to leave me alone. He was being… pushy."

Rigsby shrugged, but he was obviously uncomfortable with the conversation. "Seems reasonable. Jane can be pushy sometimes." Cho relaxed slightly and nodded along.

Van Pelt was still cautious, her eyebrows kind of furrowed. "I think you should apologize. I mean, he really-."

"No way." Lisbon shook her head, and turned slightly to look behind her. They could barely see Jane, who was all the way in the back, chin on his folded arms and eyes soaking in the surroundings. She turned back around. "I didn't do anything wrong. Sometimes he needs to just… give me my space."

Their food came before van Pelt could answer. Rigsby offered to carry it, and they weaved their way around tables to get to theirs. Lisbon chose the one across from Jane, near an open space to look out to the passing crowd. He looked to the food, and picked out what was his, plopping it in front of him. "Smells good."

Lisbon followed suit, scraping her chair back around to face the table. "The nachos are mine."

After a while of awkward chewing, Rigsby straightened up. "Hey, Jane, can you show me the map now?"

"Oh!" He said, muffled, chewing faster to speak again. He patted his mouth with his napkin, and then held his hand out to Lisbon. Since she kind of wanted to learn about it, too, she pulled the folded map out of her pocket and dropped it in his hand without a comment.

"Alright, group in," he said, unfolding the map. Lisbon squeezed in beside van Pelt, and tilted her head to look at the map the correct way. The whole thing was just a big, slightly misshapen circle.

Pointing to the bottom, his finger landed on a building. "This is the train station, which you all know of. Did you see that big street in front of it, before we really climbed on the steps to the station? Yeah, this is called 'Main Street U.S.A.'. It leads up to the Walt/Mickey statue in front of the castle." His finger barely traced the thick road, bordered by an array of shops. He nodded to Lisbon, a slight acknowledgement.

"Now, at the statue, it branches off five different ways, not including Main Street. It leads to, almost, each individual 'land'." He took another bite of his food before continuing.

"So, the path that starts going to the left, a little angled down, leads to Adventureland." He pointed to a large-ish building. "That's Pirates. We are here, just across the street. That's basically all that is really eventful to us in this land."

He led his hand back to the statue, and to a different path, still going left but tilted upward instead of down, right above the one prior.

"This goes straight to Liberty Square. That scary building at the top, near the river, is, you guessed it, the Haunted Mansion. Now, if you want to get to Frontierland, just go down and to the left. It's easier to get there from Adventureland, but you can still get there from Liberty." His finger pointed at two main attractions, each one wider than the castle on the map, at Frontierland. The land was snuggly tucked into the left of a big river, the Haunted Mansion easily in it's own corner on the other side. They really took the deserted wild-west theme pretty far out, considering that those two rides were the only things there, _deserted_. "This structure that looks like a mountain of red clay? Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. Below it is Splash Mountain."

Then he pointed to the castle. "You can go through the tunnel in the castle to get to Fantasyland, this colorful large bit at the top. It's very cheerful, obviously different from Haunted Mansion. This space at the top, huge but filled with trees? Yeah, it's not really filled with trees. It used to be Toontown, but they're redoing it as an extension to Fantasyland. The put the trees there as a place-holder, to show the magic without showing the mechanics in the _making _of them. Finally, last but not least…"

He skipped the trail that was at a rough '2:00' position, which obviously led to the space between the two lands, almost like a shortcut. His finger traced the last path, to the right and tilted downward. "This is Tomorrowland. Very futuristic, all about 'tomorrow'. It has Space Mountain and a bunch of other stuff, so it's real fun, all galaxy-like."

He pointed at Main Street again. "Tonight, there are fireworks and an Electrical Parade. Or the other way around, I should say. We will stand on the side of the road for the Parade at 9, and into the street for fireworks at 10. Hey, maybe we can fit in a ride or two again in the middle of that time span." He checked his phone. "It's a quarter 'til 3 now. So, considering positioning ourselves and getting there early for the Parade… We have about 5 more hours, which means that if everything goes on plan… we'll be right on time." He closed his eyes, probably pulling up his other mental maps in his memory palace but directing his words to them. "Let's see… shame that there's no Magic Hours tonight, we could've stayed here until midnight… Tomorrow is Monday, right? Yeah, Hollywood Studios is open until 2am tomorrow. After that, we can take a day off, relax. Wednesday we can go to Animal Kingdom. EPCOT again the next. Yeah, I think that works out fine."

Jane matched the eyes of everyone, including Lisbon. "Friday, we leave at 8am to go back to Sacramento. Make the best of your time here." Releasing their gazes, he slid the map over to Rigsby with a slight smile. "Happy now?"

"Yeah, thanks man," Rigsby said enthusiastically, looking over the map again. Lisbon slid from her seat, murmuring her excuse to use the restroom. She really didn't need to 'go', but she did want to walk around the area a bit. Weaving around tables and people, she emerged into the sunlight and stretched, yawning. Kind of around Pirates of the Caribbean, to the left, was some sort of river. She could see the entrance, only a few yards away, but she chose to sweep a bit further out, finding an empty space to lean against a rail, the crowd rushing behind her. There was enough space for two people…

No, no, that's _exactly _what he wants her to do. He wants her to admit she was wrong, because he's too stubborn to do so himself. He knew how to get under her skin even when he wasn't there, and her neck kept on craning back and forth, just in case he would randomly show up. She sighed at her paranoia.

"Room for two?"

An unfamiliar figure brushed beside her, reversing her own stance by leaning his back against the railing, elbows on the wood. She eyed him suspiciously.

He was about the same height as Jane, with the trademark smooth voice, but that's about where the similarities ended. His hair was brown, layered in a choppy way close to his neck, near his shoulders with sloppy bangs tickling his eyes. He was definitely a southern boy; a little more than stubble on his face, blue jeans, cowboy boots and a white, elbow-length button-up tucked slightly in his buckle. All he was missing was a cowboy hat. And he worked it well, like he was born with the ensemble on. He was around her age, and she deemed him not a killer pretty fast.

"Yeah, sure." She eyed his strong, tan build one more time, before holding out her hand. "I'm Teresa."

He steadily covered it with his, but instead of shaking it, he held it up to his lips. "The pleasure's all mine, miss." Eying her blush with an amused smile, he didn't release her hand. His eyes were an odd honey color, undertoned with peach. She's never seen anything like that before, and either they were real, or he had pretty high-class contacts in. "The name's Eli, Elijah for long. Your choice, either way I'll answer."

Her lips twitched up. This guy wasn't bad. "Let me guess; Texas?"

He matched her gaze with a teasing one. "Lemme guess; Chicago?"

Her eyebrows rose. "Wow, you're good. I've been living in California since I turned 18, I didn't think that there was any Bears left in me."

His wild grin was immensely appealing. "So, I betcha switched to one of the California teams. San Fran or Oakland, maybe?"

She snorted. "Hell no, I'd rather drown myself in lava than become a traitor. Especially for _them_." She almost shivered.

He lifted her hand up to his mouth once more, perfect white teeth shimmering. "Truthful. I like-."

"Lisbon!"

Eli froze, turning his head to the right, questioning to the source of the noise. Lisbon gritted her teeth. Please no, don't let it be…

An arm swung her around, and Janes' lips crushed into hers in a very unplatonic way, a hand wrapping around her neck to push her closer. What the hell is he doing? His tongue was wet and hot in her mouth, like he tasted her surprise. Like usual, she didn't kiss back, and she was able to get past the dizzying feeling to shove him away by his chest. He broke away from her, only to drape her shoulders with his arm.

He eyed Eli, accusing and overall cold. "Who are you?"

Eli held up both of his hands in surrender, but there was a flicker of thought while he watched Jane. Almost like he recognized him. "Now, 'm not lookin' for trouble. I can see that she's taken."

Jane matched Eli's beautiful yellow eyes with his own aquamarine ones, testosterone pumping in the air. He nodded his head to the street, meaning 'leave now, and I'll let you live' in man talk. Eli tipped his theoretical hat cautiously, managing a small wink to Lisbon before turning on his leather-clad heal.

"Y'all take care now."

After he left, Lisbon shoved Jane away, fuming. "Damnit, Jane! What the hell is wrong with you?"

He didn't answer, eyes to his feet. She took that as an invitation to continue.

"Eli was perfectly fine! And, if I recall, you haven't even talked to me since Pirates, so don't give me a 'I just felt like talking to you' jab." She looked back to the crowd, but he was already swallowed by the people. Nowhere to be found.

He bucked his chin higher up, and he grew a mischevious smirk. "If I recall, Teresa, _you _told me to leave you alone. I didn't know that you had a big problem with me not talking to you… Almost like you _love_ me or something."

She crossed her arms, staring at him for a long moment. Then she turned around, not bothering to retort as she headed back to the tavern.

"Hey, wait!" Jane yelled from behind, right as the team exited the little restaurant. There was something about his voice, like for once he was truly sorry about his words. Yeah, right, and pigs could _fly._

"Come on," she said, ignoring Jane's desperate call in the back of her mind. "Rigsby, lead us to… Fantasyland?"

He nodded, and led them cautiously forward, past the Frontierland sign and bordering the water surrounding the castle. Jane was running his finger down her spine and back, making her shiver involuntarily, as if he was apologizing. But she was still angry with him, so she just followed the new leader under the fairytale sign of 'Fantasyland'.

Without looking at any sign, the team automatically knew it whenever they entered Fantasyland. It was all very light and magical, colors everywhere and overall cheerful. Immediately to the left, the first thing they saw was something called 'Mickey's PhilharMagic'. Rigsby pointed to it. "That one first."

They walked in, surprised that instead of a line there was a group of people in a waiting room, plastic 3D glasses in a container on the wall. Jane grabbed five and distributed them out, whistling lightly and donning them on his curly hair. She watched him pull out his phone, tap a few buttons, and put it back in. Her phone buzzed. Wow, he texted her from _2 freaking feet away. _As if talking was too good enough for him. All the same, she couldn't ignore it.

Pulling it out, she read the small words. _'Let's go swimming tonight.'_

Her eyebrows furrowed, and she looked up to him. He was absorbing in the whole room, murmuring oddities about a few bystanders to Rigsby or Cho. _'What's in it for me?'_

'_Seeing me shirtless.'_

'_I already have.'_

His response took an extra second. _'Seeing me wet and shirtless.'_

'_Ah, nearly impossible to resist. No.'_

Her glasses were on her head, and started to slowly descend to her eyes. She brushed it back, resting against her bun, and snapped her phone closed. Eli was still on her mind, with his country accent and gentleman-ly charm. Would she ever see him again? With Jane following her every move, probably not. Her phone vibrated in her pocket once again.

'_I'm truly sorry about that Eli guy, I was jealous.'_

'_No, you're not truly sorry. You just don't want me mad at you anymore.'_

A pause. _'Is that such a bad thing?'_

'Ladies and Gentleman, Boys and Girls, in a just a few minutes we will be presenting 'Mickey's PhilharMagic!' Please gather…"

Minnie Mouse's helium-enhanced voice bubbled over the speakers, catching the attention of everyone in the waiting room. Their voices lowered slightly, in expectation to the doors swinging open at any moment. She slid her cell into her pocket once more, not bothering to reply to his message. This whole day has been confusing so far, and despite everything that has happened, almost bland. She was itching or something to happen, but what?

The doors opened before she could think any more, and a familiar hand guided her to the right row of seats.

As if by magic, she didn't really mind it.

XXXXXX

"That apple pie smelled _good," _Rigsby moaned, patting his full stomach.

Lisbon rolled her eyes as they dropped their glasses into a bin outside of the theatre, veering to the left for Peter Pan's Flight. "It was great, but I liked it for other reasons besides the special effects. Like how Donald steals the sorcerer's hat, and goes through the enhanced versions of each of the Disney classics. And the special effects." That sentence basically summed up the whole show, which kind of had an advanced nostalgia to it.

"It was fun," Jane agreed from beside her. There was still an edge to his voice, and it was like a scratch at the back of her throat; she wanted to get rid of it.

"What's wrong?" She asked, right as the worker at the front let them through with a flash of Rigsby's card. He looked at her immediately, but instead of answering, his eyes turned murderous and he glared at her. Wait, what did she do? Then she realized that he wasn't glaring at her, but something over her shoulder. She turned her head, and was greeted by a familiar face.

Instead of greeting Eli or anything, she playfully smiled. "You following us?"

He barked out a quick laugh. "No, but I did see yer little group here. I didn't know y'all were holders of the Magic Card." He held up his own card, identical except for the 'Elijah Hills' written across the front in flourish, like what each of their individual cards had in their own names. He stuffed it in the back of his blue jeans, and counted them off with his yellow eyes. "Room for one more? I have a family reunion tomorrow, so until then I'm purty much solo. If I'm not much of an intrusion."

Lisbon said, "Yes!" right when Jane muttered "Like hell." She nudged him harshly, but Eli caught on. He knew that he _would _intrude, but he seemed that he really didn't want to be alone today. So his honey eyes turned sheepish.

"I'm not tryin' to suck pity from y'all, but every year we come over here for our annual reunion. My wife and sons were…" he looked away, almost embarrassed. "…In a car crash, from a drunk driver. This is just my first year without 'em, and I kinda want some good company."

Jane perked his ears, thoughtful. Maybe they weren't so different after all. "I'm sorry to hear that, though I doubt that makes the pain feel any better. I'm Patrick Jane."

"Ah," Eli said, almost in… pride? "That's what I thought."

"I knew I'd seen you somewhere," Eli continued, nodding to Jane. "I saw you with 'Resa in that Liberty Square crowd earlier, must've be my subconscious talkin' to me when I saw her by the river not too long ago. And then I saw you again, whene'er you confronted me… then I was certain. You must be Channel 12."

Jane was fazed for a second, eyebrows twitching in confusion. Then composed himself quickly, his face almost professional. "Yes, I guess I was once known as that. Have I…? Sorry if I don't recall."

Eli shook his head, his shiny bangs brushing his eyelashes. "No, no, it's just that… Let me introduce myself again."

He held out his hand, a casual grin on his face. "My name's Channel 14."

Jane widened his eyes, taken aback, an emotion that seemed wrong on his face. "That's… surprising."

They stared at each other for a long moment, mildly daring the other to make a move. Lisbon broke it.

"Can someone please tell me what the hell's going on?"

XXXXXX

"So… Eli was an old rival in the psychic business?"

Jane nodded slightly, as did Eli. They had convinced the people that led them board to allow three to a 'ship', and now they were cruising slowly over different scenarios, one of them a mini London under them that was only lit up by the tiny lights inside of Big Ben and inside the houses, like they were flying with Peter Pan. "To the press, that is. We never actually met."

Eli filled in the blanks. "In the beginning of both our careers, we was 'fighting' to see who would be the better man." He rolled his eyes, but with a smile. "He won over me. Thankfully, one of the women that I _did _service… well, we hit it off better than a baseball bat to a beehive. I told her after my show to meet me in Houston, when she had called me to contact her twin sister. When I first saw her…" He shrugged. Lisbon nodded, but then, cautiously, tested Eli.

"Quick, what am I thinking?"

He sighed. "You're thinking about something to think. Wait, now by the lick of your lips, something sweet… Apple pie? You must've just left the Philhar-thingy."

Dear Lord, it was another Jane. "Wow, you're good. You two should play cards sometime."

It was tense in the air again. Lisbon raised her eyebrows as they softly drifted into Neverland. "Or maybe not. Is there something wrong with that?"

Jane shook his head. "No, but… we did try to keep it separate. Back then. You get so used to reading someone like a book, per say, that when it finally happens to you… we both knew that there is a possibility of someone snapping."

Lisbon nodded as if it made sense. The team was in the boat in front of them, but they kept questions to themselves. Lisbon would introduce Eli to them at the end.

She was sandwiched in the middle of the two, Jane tracing patterns lightly on the bone of her bare knee. Kind of like the day on the airplane. It wasn't unpleasant.

They flew over bright mermaids, frozen in the sunny water. Eli looked at Jane's hand, then back to Lisbon. "'M real sorry about the whole thing earlier, I didn't mean to make you…uncomfortable." All three knew that she wasn't, but it was the right thing to say if it seemed as if she was 'taken'. "Tell me, how long have you two been together?"

"Nine years."

Lisbon elbowed Jane in his side. "That's not what he means and you know it." She turned her head back to Eli. "We aren't together in that sense. At all. Not even remotely, really."

A perfect brown eyebrow perked behind the smooth curtain of his layered bangs. "Sounds to me like yer tryin' to convince yourself, 'nstead of me."

Jane sighed in relief from beside her. "Thank you!"

"Oh, shut up Jane," she mumbled, leaning back in her seat and crossing her arms, watching Peter Pan take the pirate ship from Captain Hook. She began to fantasize about what it would be like to fly, and a small smile crept onto her lips.

"Thinking about me, I presume," Jane noted at her smile, breaking into her thoughts. Lisbon turned her head to glare at him, but pointed her words to Eli.

"Eli, are you as annoying as Jane? Because if you are, I have to warn you that objects may go flying."

Jane leaned over Lisbon to non-subtly whisper: "She's a thrower."

"Damn straight," Lisbon muttered, pushing Jane to get out of the boat faster as they flew in beside the boarding platform. "I still think it's strange that you two happened to meet each other in Disney World. The odds are endless."

"Actually, they're about 1 in 45,000, only thinkin' of today." Eli's smile wasn't malignant, like Jane's usually was; it was teasing, no doubt, but it had a truly innocent quality to it.

Her feet padded on the ground, and Cho met her next to the boat immediately. "Who's he?"

"Oh, yeah," Lisbon said, stepping back to introduce the new guy. "This is Elijah. Him and Jane were… let's just say that he and Jane are two peas from the same pod."

They all understood her meaning, about the apparent skills that this man seemed to share with Jane. And then Rigsby got a good look at Eli's face. "Wow, you're eyes… they're yellow."

The southerner turned embarrassed. "Eh, yeah." He didn't really feel the need to add more, following the team as they headed across the street to 'it's a small world'. Van Pelt quietly scolded Rigsby for being rude before shyly eyeing Eli again.

"They're contacts, right?"

"Nope. All real." He tapped his temple knowingly. "It helps me see straight into the soul, sweetheart." In return, van Pelt looked almost terrified. Him and Jane chuckled simultaneously, though it sounded more like cackles.

"Stop with the scaring!" Lisbon snapped, which made Eli sheepishly try to hide a smile and look at his feet. He already seemed like part of the team with his casual attitude.

"Is this another Jane?" Cho asked Lisbon, expressionless and monotone to show what he was like to Eli. "Because, if it is, I'd rather stay at the hotel."

"You and me both," Lisbon whispered, barely audible. Her stomach gurgled, and it began to feel uncomfortable. She shook it off.

"Hey!"

"It's freaky," Rigsby muttered, eyeing the sign to 'it's a small world' like it would jump out at him at any second. He'd heard the rumors. "Jane and him say stuff and laugh at the same time, like their minds are in sync. Even their voices are alike."

It was true. Both Jane and Eli had that soothing methodic voice of a hypnotist, the only giveaway their different accents and individual tones. Take away that, you had weapons of freakin' mass destruction. Damn sexy weapons. Oh God, what was she thinking? She shook the thoughts out of her head, subtle enough so the twins couldn't catch on.

"Ah, 'it's a small world'," Jane murmured, placing his hand on the small of Lisbon's back like he always did. She was beginning to sweat, but not from their closeness. Her hands were kind of clammy, and her stomach was really getting to her. "Take note that _this _is what nightmares are made of."

Lisbon shrugged, refusing the urge to lift her bangs to cool her forehead off. "Then don't ride it."

He gave her a pointed look. "Are you riding it?"

"Well, sure, I gue-."

"Then so am I." He said it like it was the most obvious thing in the world. She sighed heavily, eyeing Cho flash his golden card to the person up front. They ushered them into a side entrance, under a restaurant that overlooked the boat ride. The inside was really colorful and cheery, vibrant pastel colors surrounding them. Lisbon didn't feel so good at the idea.

The person who led them stopped at 'holding'. Basically, quite a few rows were separated by metal bars, and it was very short, enough to hold about 5 people. Probably the same size across as the boat itself, convenient for organizing yourselves while you waited. To the left, under an arch and across the water, they could see a boat slowly making it's way to them. Rigsby, Cho and Eli were in the row behind her, and van Pelt was leading, followed by Jane then a shaky Lisbon. Her hands were on either side of the railing, holding her up, and her face was visibly paled. The boat pulled up, and Jane didn't notice her condition until he was already sitting in the seat, looking up at her. Seeing her expression, his voice turned alarmed.

"Lisbon? Are you OK?" She backed away, letting the person who controlled the boarding of the rides know that she was _definitely _not riding. They closed the tiny doors to the boat, and Lisbon matched his eyes weakly.

"I… I think I'm gonna be sick."

And she ran off right as the boat took off, heading into the bathroom right next to Peter Pan… and puking her guts out.

XXXXXX

"Damn… Mexican food."

Her vomiting ceased for the moment, so she flushed the toilet before another round came on. Or, it flushed by itself. Thankfully, in her frantic haze, she had chosen the stall all the way to the back, so no one could really listen in on her little puke-and-flush fest. God, she felt like crap.

A few more seconds ticked past. Her phone vibrated violently in her pocket, but she didn't want to look at it. She was feeling dizzy as-is, and she didn't want to read and make it worse. In the time span of ten minutes, she's had 7 episodes. She wasn't a doctor, but she was pretty sure that 7 consecutive fits of upchucking wasn't a good thing.

After she was positive that the worst was over, she stood up shakily and wiped a hand down her damp cheek. Right when she maneuvered herself straight on uncertain feet, drying her hands off on her shorts, she heard a knock.

"Occupado," Lisbon said hoarsely, opening the stall door to face her intruder.

"Hey." Van Pelts' eyes were concerned, and her titian hair was pulled back into a high ponytail. "Are you ok?"

Lisbon contemplated that for a moment. "No."

She nodded, understanding. "Do you… need to go back to the hotel?"

Again, she thought about the answer for a moment. Then she nodded, pushing her fuzzy brain to the limit while she calculated her own little schedule. "I'll be back by 7:30. Meet me in the front of the statue." She checked her phone. 14 missed messages. Jeez. "It's 4:30 now. I should be fine to get to the bus station by 7 tonight." She left the stall, and van Pelt nodded once more.

"Okay, I'll just go tell Jane-."

"No!" Lisbon yelled, and she made an effort to lower her voice when questioning looks came her way. "I mean, I want to be alone. I'll go out the back exit behind us, into Liberty Square, go to Frontierland and take the train back to the station." She shook her head, stubborn. "If Jane finds out, he'll most likely follow. Just… wait until you get a text from me so you can go back outside, okay?"

The agent was obviously hesitant. Did she have to lie? She always hated that. She voiced her thoughts out loud.

"No, no," Lisbon said, shaking her head to assure the woman. "Just stay in here until my signal. Then you can explain everything to him. Odds are, when you go back outside and he doesn't see me, he'll come to that conclusion on his own."

Van Pelt was still slightly ruffled, but it didn't take long for her to look assured and confident. "Okay, boss. See you at… 7:30?"

Lisbon nodded, and dodged to the left, towards the entrance in the back. "You bet. Thanks."

Van Pelt muttered something incoherent, but Lisbon was already out the door.

XXXXXX

'_Almost to the buses. You're good.'_

Van Pelt sighed, sending back an affirmative reply and sliding the phone back into her pocket. This sucks. Jane will be fuming when he figures out. Which will obviously be really quick, since Jane was, you know… Jane. She let out another shaky breath, and left her spot on the wall to break out into the sunlight.

"Well?" Jane asked as soon as she walked out, his hair messy from, what she assumed, running his hands through it in his small fits of worry. "Is she okay? Where's Lisbon?"

"Um…" She felt the need that she didn't have to say any more to get the point across. His eyes narrowed in thought, and Eli averted his eyes in case of an outburst. He came to the conclusion a split second before Jane did.

"I see." The blonde's jaw was tense, but he didn't seem particularly angry. "Is there… any way I can catch up to her?"

Van Pelt shook her head, the tips of her ponytail brushing the back of her neck. Rigsby looked like he was about to take a step towards her, but he stopped himself as Jane seemed to become more collected. To everyone's' immense surprise, he shrugged nonchalantly.

"Alright, you win some you lose some. Anyone ready for Snow White's Scary Adventures? Or should we just go to Tomorrowland?" Jane tapped his bottom lip with his finger, contemplation molding in with utter comfort on his face.

Wait, what the hell? Maybe his feelings for her didn't go as deep as they seemed, that maybe he was tired of her for the moment. No, no, considering the past few days, they were more surprised that he didn't keep her handcuffed to him. Whenever she left his sight, he was visibly uneasy. Taking this into mind, Cho was the first to speak.

"You're not angry. Why aren't you angry?"

It took Jane a moment to answer. "She's going back to the hotel to heal herself. Of course, I would want to help her as much as I could… But sometimes a person has to be alone. And I don't blame her. So Tomorrowland? It's nearly 5 now."

Eli was the only one that could catch up with Jane's mood and actually comprehend what the hell was going on. "That sounds swell."

"So much for anger," van Pelt muttered, and Rigsby put a hand on her shoulder. An angry Jane would be more understandable than _this. _He was a ticking time bomb.

Without Lisbon, how were they supposed to keep him from exploding?

XXXXXX

When Lisbon, at about 5:30, made it back to the hotel after a nearly-empty bus ride, she went straight to the gift shop to get some Tums and other stomach-related medicines. If she was on the mend, she better mend pretty fast in the time span of 2 hours. Her stomach was still upset, but she didn't really feel the _urge _exactly to throw up anymore. She really hoped it would go away, along with all the bitterness that had formed.

Dear lord, thinking back she realized that the whole day had been so _dramatic. _First the issue in the bathroom this morning, then the 'leave me alone!' thing, then Eli, then _bleugh. _It was too much, and Lisbon felt silly for even getting into her little spats with Jane. None of it meant anything, so she figured that it was just a result of spending too much time together. She slid her card into the slot and dropped the bag onto the counter, taking her shirt off somewhere in between. All rueful thoughts vanished when her once-sweaty skin hit the cool air. She rushed into the bathroom and turned on the shower, stripping quickly while the water heated up.

She hadn't been alone for ages. Well, she had, but not like this. Alone in a hotel, where more than 3/4 of the occupants were at a Disney park at this time. It was fantastic.

She felt sorry to take out the bun Jane had put in her hair, but she _really _needed to wash every part of her and get the grime all off. She let the waves tumble down her shoulders, and let out a sigh. Jane. What was he thinking right now? Was he angry? She didn't feel the need to belittle herself in his thoughts, no matter how arrogant that would seem; he'd made it very clear that he very much cares about her. What was he feeling? There was a way to check.

Before she jumped into the shower, she found her shorts near the bedroom door, and dug her phone out of one of the pockets. Aha. All of the messages held a sort of 'Where are you?' or 'Come here' or even 'I'll take you back to the hotel.' Except for one, the newest one, sent about ten minutes ago.

'_See you before the parade. Hope you're doing well.'_

Huh. No anger there. _'You sound like you're texting your grandmother. What are you all doing right now?'_

His reply came immediately. He had ignored her jab and went straight to business, never a good sign. _'The Transit Authority PeopleMover. It tours Tomorrowland.'_

She felt a bit of sadness, not being there to enjoy the rides. _'Have fun without me.'_

One word washed away all her sadness, but then immediately replaced it with frustration for making her blush like a schoolgirl. _'Impossible.'_

Throwing the phone back down on the heap of white denim, she half-stomped half-frolicked away, locking the bathroom door behind her. She knew that she didn't even have to close it, but it was just a precaution, and a bit of paranoia.

The water was a whole lot silkier and purer than her own back home, a fact she took note of the night before. She decided to take her time with the hotel-issued toiletries; she had the time to waste. When she finished her thorough shower, she slipped the towel around her and quickly walked through the doorway, to the bedroom. She gathered up her dirty clothes, found a bag in the laundry cabinet to throw them in, and kicked the door closed behind her.

The sun outside the balcony was low, and if you kept your eyes only on the animals in the little habitat below, it was almost as if you were in Africa. Heat included. It hadn't really been a boiling day; whenever the sun was briefly obscured behind clouds, an air of chill covered your overheated skin. Without the sun tonight, she figured it was okay to change into some tight jean-Capri's with a faded lavender top. Hell, Jane was wearing _jeans, _so it wasn't like there was a chance of her being fried alive inside of her clothes_. _

She took her phone and walked into the kitchen, popping a few medications in her mouth. Her stomach wasn't exactly in pain, but it was churning violently and uncomfortably. Which she didn't particularly want, and was hoping to get rid of.

In the time span of five minutes, she was lazily lounging on the couch, brushing her floral-scented hair with one hand and in the process of maneuvering her phone up with the other. It was only a quarter after six, which meant about 40 more minutes until she would make herself get up and go back down to the buses. She clumsily opened up her messages and texted Jane with one hand, tapping in words. _'What are you all doing now?'_

It took him a few minutes. _'Just got off of Buzz Lightyear. About to go to the Laugh Factory.'_

'_Huh?'_

She could practically feel him sigh. _'Monster's Inc. is a show with a bunch of jokes in it. It's supposed to be real funny.'_

She bit her lip, braiding a chunk of her wet hair and tying it around itself gently at the bottom. She did another, and texted back to him. God, she felt like she was 16 all over again, despite having a cell phone in her hand rather than a clunky telephone on her shoulder. _'Then I'll let you go, have fun.'_

The braiding kept her hands busy, which kept her mind occupied in return, and her stomach was beginning to settle and churn less. She wasn't a doctor, but she figured that that was a good sign. The phone buzzed on her denim thigh. _'No. Keep talking to me.'_

'_Why?'_

A moment passed. _'Because if you don't, I'll send you some very_ _naughty-naughty pictures.'_

'_You're in Disney World, Jane. How naughty can you get?'_

'_I'll find a way. Maybe get a pic under Minnie's skirt or something.'_

Their banter was starting to return, and she was happy for. Lisbon finished braiding the right side of her head and began on her left. When it was dry, it would be a sort of wavy. Since she didn't have the time to let it dry naturally, when she was finished she headed into the bathroom, taking out the hotel-customary blow drier and setting it to high.

For some reason, the most helpful or interesting of thoughts were thought about in the bathroom. She realized that she hadn't seen Jane in… When did she run out of 'small world'? Around 4? 4:15? Either way, it was more than two hours, three whenever she arrived at the statue. She also thought about Eli. Tomorrow, he would be at a family reunion, and odds are she won't see him again. She was a bit disappointed at that fact, but she didn't know him nearly well enough to invite him to another park with them in a few days. Well, she did, but it would be easier not to. She sighed in frustration, turning the drier off when her braids were dry and beginning to unwind them.

Wait a second, she was a cop for God's sake! She wasn't going to fall victim to love or any of that crap. Who cares if she hadn't seen Jane in a while? Who cares about some guy named Elijah? If the people around her are alive, she's good, end of story.

The tightness of her eyes betrayed her in the reflection in the mirror, the slight twitching of her jaw giving her away. She reluctantly admitted that she _did _want to see Eli again. More importantly, she actually missed Jane in a matter of mere hours. It was pathetic, but it was true. She desperately wanted him with her right now, but she would never truly admit that to herself, or more importantly, not to him. So, instead, she applied light makeup, slipped on some white flats the same color as the seams on her shirt, took another Tums, and made it out the door by 7.

She had a feeling that Jane was already at the statue. And she also had a feeling that she wanted to be there, too.

XXXXXX

The castle was built thicker at the bottom, gradually crawling off the top in thin towers. Jane noticed right when they entered that it was an illusion to the eye; the castle wasn't very much tall at all, the architectural work making the eye see it more gigantic than it really was. But here, with van Pelt's 'oohs' and 'ahs', and with Cho snapping pictures of the building, it was just beautiful. Jane figured that, when he was analyzing it up close, he would be able to precisely pinpoint past the appearance, and zero into the height itself. But there, against the stone circled around the bronze statue directly in front of the color-changing castle, it was still magnificent, massive in size. It, for once, dazzled him.

The streets were clearing out, crowds of people on the side of the road, framing the pavement. Uniforms were stretching out rope to keep people back, and since the route to the parade was apparently wrapping around the statue and branching off into Liberty Square, they had to let themselves be swallowed into the crowds rather quickly. They had eaten at the Starlight Café in Tomorrowland only minutes earlier, nothing special. But it was surprisingly delicious, like Tortuga's Tavern, and very casual, so there were really no complaints.

"Do you suppose she'll get here in time?" Eli slurred from beside him, one bud of country music snuggly set into his ear. He was the model of calm, and if Jane were a better man, he would've respected him for it. Instead, he just shrugged, mutual.

"Your guess is as good as mine. Only five minutes until 7:30, but it's not like I'm keeping track."

"Mmhm," Eli chuckled, causing Jane to join in slightly as well. "And the sky ain't blue."

"Well, that's no fair, sometimes it's gray. Right now, it's pitch black. Besides, in actuality, the sky itself isn't exactly blue. It seems that way by-."

"Shut yer trap, you know what I mean."

Jane shrugged, not an ounce bit remorseful in any way. "Of course I do. But Lisbon isn't here to bicker with, so you're the best bet."

Eli sighed, brushing back bangs from his interesting eyes and matching Jane's teasing stare. "At first, 'Resa seemed like she overreacted to yer shenanigans, 'cause I didn't think they were half as bad as she figured in the slightest. Now I understand why she would throw shit at you." He raised his eyebrows, face suddenly innocent. "Did I do it right?"

Jane attempted to look deep in thought. "A little much on the language, but I'll give it a pass since you're Texan."

Eli scoffed, rearranging his little pod to fit in his ear better. "Everythang's bigger in Texas, including our wit. I have a whole bucket o' California _blonde hair blue eyes _stereotypes that I've been itching to keel over, if you'd like."

Jane didn't falter. "Fine. I'll grab my Ferrari, you grab your horse."

"Ferrari? Hell no, more like surfboard. How good'l that do you?"

"Better if we're racing in the water."

"If you can recall, horses can swim pretty darn well. I don't think the early western settlers of colonial America had a surfboard in handy when crossing them rivers."

"Oh yeah? During the time of-."

"Boys, boys," came a light voice from beside them, pulling them from their ridiculous dispute and onto the slightly pale face of Teresa Lisbon. "Why can't any of you choose a reasonable option? Like a _boat? _Seriously."

"No, jokingly," Jane said on reflex, sprouting a slight grin at her much-awaited arrival. "Hello, Lisbon. Are you feeling well? Did you take medicine?"

She nodded at both of the questions, but Jane could tell that she wasn't really at her best. Eli watched her carefully.

"I don't know whether to be happy yer here, or worried that you left the hotel." He gave her a warm chuckle, and she felt the urge to return it. Rigsby patted Lisbon's shoulder gently with his big hand, capturing her attention.

"I'm glad you're back, boss. You totally missed 'Space Mountain', though. While I was on it, I didn't know whether to puke or scream."

Lisbon tried to keep her composure from laughing at his truly innocent statement. "Sounds fun, Rigs. Real rollercoaster-y." And then she turned to van Pelt, giving her a glance that nearly said it all. "Thank you."

The agent nodded slightly, a bit sheepish from the gratitude. Lisbon turned away, but Cho stopped her. "Hi."

She knew what he was getting at, that she talked to everyone but him. Their agent-minds were linked together that way, and Lisbon tried to keep her face professional. "Hi."

A slight nod, and Rigsby chuckled boldly, catching wind of what they were trying to do. Jane cleared his throat, catching their attention.

"We should really clear out to the side before the officials clear _us_. I see a good space over there."

Lisbon half-expected Jane to grab her hand, or drape an arm around her shoulders, but he didn't. Well, isn't that what she wanted, anyhow? Him not touching her? She convinced herself that it gave her an uneasy feel because of how different it was from the past few days, and that it was just abrupt. Yeah, that was it. She trailed by the side of the team, close, not wanting to get separated. The quantity of people was astounding, really, and the idea of getting lost in it was terrifying. Rigsby didn't seem to mind the fact that she was holding onto a small corner his shirt, and she took that as an advantage to grasp onto it even tighter.

They fitted nicely into an open space that was 'front row', right behind the rope that separated them from the street, set up above the curve. All around them, there were children laughing, and a few vendors were walking down the street before the parade started, handing out rainbow light-up swords and neon jewelry. A scheme to run the parents' out of their money, obviously.

Jane brushed beside her, hands hanging lightly on the rope. Well, a would-be brush, if he was _actually_ touching her, but she disregarded that thought as it appeared. She looked past the castle that gently changed bright colors and over the trees, into the clear night sky. Jane clucked his tongue, catching her attention.

"Are you sure you're all right? You seem pale."

His voice was nonchalant with an edge of a sort of curiosity to it. Maybe concern? She ran her fingers over her hair, barely touching the soft ridges made from her braids, and shrugged. "I'm fine, Jane. Really. In fact, I'm a bit hungry." It was true. Even though her stomach was constantly making noises and churning violently, it wasn't hurting and her appetite was starting to return. He shook his head softly.

"I can hear your stomach from here. You may think you're hungry, but whenever the food drops…" He made a motion with his hands, to portray throwing up. Lisbon grumbled in response, pouty from not being able to eat.

Jane chuckled, watching the people on the other side of the empty street move around and chat loudly. "We have soup at the hotel, you know. I ordered quite a few cans from the grocery store, and that should be okay when we return."

"But I'm hungry _now."_

Jane eyed her for a moment, and then shrugged, waving his hand out in front of him. "By all means, if upchucking again is what makes you happy, go ahead."

"Really? Thanks, Jane." She disregarded his attempt at discouragement and immediately began to go around the rope to the vendor across the street, which probably had hot dogs, but Jane grasped onto her wrist. The sudden touch sprung warmth up her arm, and she sucked in a barely audible breath.

"I was bluffing, Lisbon," Jane sighed, gingerly balancing her wrist between two fingers. "Next time, I'll have to be more elaborate."

She disregarded his words, her eyes watching his hand that covered her slightly clammy skin. "You're touching me."

His eyes widened slightly, then lowered to the ground, a sheepish smile gracing his lips. "You noticed that I haven't been."

"Why? I mean, I'm just curious in the sudden change."

He was about to say something along the lines of a sarcastic 'sure', but he changed his tone to explanatory. "You seem fragile right now, what with having a very sensitive stomach at the moment. It seems like the smallest change in your posture will upset you."

It was surprisingly sweet, the thought behind his actions. Or lack of. She slid his hand from her wrist and into her hand, lightly keeping it from falling from his calloused palm. "I don't really feel the urge to throw up right now, Jane."

"Give it time."

They could hear Eli talking to Cho, and feel the vibration of the rope as van Pelt leaned beside them, nearest Lisbon. "It's really pretty tonight. I mean, without the sun, there's actually a pretty cool breeze coming in."

Jane nodded, leaning over the barrier to look to the left, in sign of the parade. Some recorded, low voice was blaring on the speakers around them, something about the Main Street Electrical Parade 'beginning in just five minutes'. "There's supposed to be a little rain coming in this upcoming Tuesday, the day we head to Downtown Disney and such. Which means the humidity will be even more unbearable the next day, Animal Kingdom." Jane pretended to wipe sweat from his forehead, and van Pelt sighed.

"I thought California was bad in the humidity department. My hair frizzes up awfully, so I'm keeping it in a ponytail or something high-up for the whole trip." She straightened her red hair, but she wasn't very interested in the mundane task. Jane pulled his hand from Lisbon's to pat the agent soothingly on the back, which made her giggle slightly, a more lighter version of a chuckle. Lisbon smiled at the two and patted her pocket for her phone, but it wasn't there.

"Damn it."

"What is it?" Jane asked worriedly, running his eyes over her to check and see if anything was wrong. He spotted her hand, and relaxed. "Oh, you forgot your phone at the hotel."

"I was on the couch, texting you, and then I went to blow dry my hair…" She was grumbling, crossing her arms as van Pelt brushed by her arm to talk to Eli, who seemed a bit out of place with the rest of the teams' chatter. Jane reached up to stroke her hair, feeling the silky waves around her head.

"Speaking of hair, yours is pretty. It looks kind of Earthy, which would make sense, considering your gorgeous green eyes and olive skin." He sent her a million watt smile, brighter than the castle a ways beside her. God, why did he have to do that? It made her skin even more clammy, looking at his beautiful features as he beamed down at her. And his lips… they were taught around his teeth, and a moist rosy color that almost looked at soft as rose petals themselves. She knew that they were, but she never got a taste by herself…

"Ladies and Gentlemen, Boys and Girls! The Main Street Electrical Parade is…"

The music from the parade boomed from down the street, cutting off the automated announcers voice. Jane kept his eyes locked on Lisbon, who just realized that she was on the tips of her toes, mere inches from his face. Or lips, with one hand on his shoulder and the other one in the act of reaching for his hand.

Oh. My. God.

She could not _believe _that she was about to kiss him! After the whole day, with him-kissing-her and her-making-sure-she-doesn't-kiss-back, all of her hard work of suffering in silence and contemplating her true feelings were _ruined. _If she didn't kiss him, she didn't have any rock-hard commitments, and she could really think about how she felt for him, which is why she had been extra careful not to kiss back. And now, with his eyes darker and his hand itching around her waist, she pulled away before the damage could be done, but it was already implied.

"Damn. Damn. Damnity-Damn Damn." She was chanting the profanity like a song, straining her muscles not to pace and tightening her fists around the rope. Her cop-senses could feel his gaze constantly on her, unwavering, as she tried to calm her thoughts. Finally, after a few colorfully-bright floats passed and Alice and Wonderland was sprouting, she tuned to look Jane directly in the eye.

"What? Why do you keep staring at me?"

He didn't turn towards her, his face suddenly forward to watch the odd characters from Underland dance around on the pavement or their individual floats. "You were about to kiss me."

Lisbon figured that it was better to lie badly then to tell the truth. "No, I wasn't."

"Yes, I think you were. But don't be at fault, Teresa; I was about to kiss you, too."

"Shocker," she mumbled, before lifting her chin up in defiance. "Just forget that everything happened, alright?"

"Not likely. You never kiss me back, yet now you initiate one?" He shook his head, golden hair now wheat-colored in the dull streetlights. "How am I supposed to forget that? And why _don't _you kiss me back? I can't be that bad of a kisser."

She sighed loudly, irritably. It was no use lying to Jane; he would know the true reason immediately and get pissed for her lying to him. So, she chose a shrug and a non-caring tone. "Kissing you back would mean that you won."

His voice was questioning, merely curious. "Won what?"

She used her hands to make her point, gesturing to him then her. "All of this. You told me I would love you by the end of this trip, and you always win as is. So, I'm not going to let you win, for once."

He laughed out loud, a harmonious sound she was only just getting used to hearing. "Of course you would think of this as a game. My fault; I constantly forget to dim down a bit for you."

"Hey!"

"No, not that you're dumb or anything like that," Jane quickly reassured, waving to Cinderella as she passed in a pumpkin-shaped carriage. "It's just that… you know." He spun a finger around in a circle at his temple, implying that he was crazy. Or so insanely smart that he was crazy. Either way, concerning his gesture, Lisbon couldn't say that she disagreed.

"Yeah, I get it. So, if it's not a game, what is it?"

"It's just a promise." He looked down at her, his eyes full of admiration. "I'll always love you, and my promise to you is that you'll feel the same way, too. Which is a good thing."

She grimaced. "Not really."

He pretended to look hurt. "You don't want me loving you?"

She answered honestly. "I don't know."

He nodded, and it seemed more appreciative. "If I asked you that a few days ago, you would've said 'Hell no'. Progress, if you ask me."

"Yeah? Well, no one asked you."

Pinocchio passed them, drunken 'donkey' children taunting and joking with the people lined up the streets. Jane held out his hand for a high-five, and one of them shook it roughly and kissed it. Eli chuckled from behind them, and Jane aimed his words to her as he examined his knuckles casually. "Feisty. Keep it coming, it's adorable."

"Will punching you in the face be feisty enough to satisfy you? I'm sure that I can do that adorably enough for you."

"Well, as long as it's adorably done…"

She raised her fist, but he called her bluff without a blink of an eye. She lightly tapped it against his jaw, playfully firm, and he turned his head to kiss her fist. "You're right. That was rather adorable."

"Wow, Patrick Jane admitted that I was right. Can I get that in writing, so I can frame it?"

"Meh, I say that you're correct nearly all of the time. Whenever you win an _argument _against me, that's when you should throw a party."

"That day will come." She shrugged, the colorful lights in front of her flashing her skin different colors as she dropped her arm to her side. "And I'm waiting patiently for it to show up."

He nodded appreciatively. "Very good, almost healthy, even. Except for the obvious impossible implication. But that's just minor." In Jane talk, that was basically 'Ha ha, loser!'. She crossed her arms, bending her torso back to pop it. She had recovered from jetlag very well, considering how often she traveled in her line of duty, but that didn't mean she wasn't uncomfortable and tired.

"Shut up, Jane, I'm not stupid."

"Oh, goodness no, I know you're not stupid." He eyed her stiff stance with mild curiosity, but he seemed to disregard it and watch Snow White pass. "But I'm smarter. Whatever you call yourself after that is all your decision, nothing to do with me."

"Jackass," she muttered. "Damn arrogant son of a-."

"Really, again with the language? Are you from Sacramento, California or Cali?" He gestured to his ears, his face dropped into a whine. Lisbon was tempted to shout many profanities at him, just for the sake of annoying him, but Eli chose then to walk in between them, pulling the music buds out of his ears.

"Well, this has been one heck of a rodeo, but I reckon that it's my time to skedaddle." Lisbon sorted through his words quickly, for the meaning in his strong accent, but Jane spoke up.

"Oh, well, it was fun having you here., Elijah." Him and Eli shook hands, and she grasped at what he was saying.

Eli was _leaving. _

"Oof!" Eli gasped, after Lisbon had jumped into him for one of her rare hugs. Usually she would shake someone's hand, give a person a parting glare, really never anything special. Jane was surprised, because the only time _he _ever got a hug was whenever he had given her one first. So, joined with surprise, he was also jealous. The bloke was just leaving to go back to his hotel, not to war, so why was she hugging him, anyway?

She pulled back, blushing, but met Eli's flecked eyes with her own. His arms were strong –stronger than Jane's-, and his choppy bangs managed to stay out of the dandelion irises. He was _so _handsome, but it's not like it was only that. He was nice, sweet, like a happier variation of Jane that she really liked. And then she realized that she was comparing Eli with Jane, which wasn't the slightest bit right. What was wrong with her?

With a peck on her cheek, Eli pulled back, said his goodbyes to the team, and disappeared into the crowd. They all watched him until he left, and then Jane turned his head stared at her red face, an eyebrow raised in accusation. She tried to ignore him, but eventually the tingling feeling of being watched was rather annoying on her neck.

"What, Jane? What do you want?"

"Well… Not really want," he began slowly, almost stalling. The parade in front of him was also slowing, almost to its' end. "More like wonder. You've known me longer than him, yet…?"

"You and Elijah aren't the same, so don't try to compare." She took a deep breath in, and then let her words come out like a river. "He's a solved puzzle, so I don't have to really guess with him. He's, mentally, compatible for me. So it's easier to tune my emotions in with his. With you, though… you have a piece missing, so it's impossible to solve. Instead of tuning my own feelings in with yours, you do that for me. So, of course I would hug Eli; he wanted to hug me too. But I can never know with you."

"Well, you can always hug me, so you never really have to guess."

She rolled her eyes at his factual tone. "You know it's not just about that."

"Yeah, I do." He was trapped in space for a short moment, but he soon snapped out of it with one of his smiles that lit his whole face up. "But, before we get into that, I believe that I have a Wishes celebration to show you. Fireworks that surround you, as far as the eye can see. Can you stick by me long enough for that?" He held his hand out for her, palm up to the moon.

"I don't know, maybe. If you behave." She placed her hand into his, which caused his smile to stretch wider into a grin.

"You're right," he agreed, nodding. "We can save the naughty stuff for later."

"Yeah," she sighed, but then she realized what his implication was. "Hey!"

He chuckled.

Why was she holding hands with a pervert again?

XXXXXX

They finally made it back home, after watching pretty cool fireworks and a beautiful transforming castle. They _could _have ridden something between the parade and the Wishes display, but they wanted a good spot, nice and close to the castle. Which they did, in the middle of the road, in good view of the vibrant display. The fireworks were supposed to erupt around them, which they did. After that, the park was going to close soon anyway, so they managed to make it back at around a quarter after ten. Everyone went straight to their respective rooms. Except Lisbon.

After a quick stop at the bathroom right in front of the door, she ambled on her slightly sore feet to the kitchen, where the soup was supposed to be. She found broccoli with a thick cream of cheese. _Bonus._

She ate it quickly after heating it up, ready to get enough sleep for Hollywood Studios tomorrow. With her soup she took a few more pills; she didn't really feel bad anymore, but she'd rather be safe than sorry. Slipping off her flats, she turned the corner into her tiny space, behind a doorway and into a miniscule hallway. She threw the shoes beside her suitcase, and was just started to rummage through her pajama selections when Jane emerged.

"Hey, feel better?" A white towel was tied carelessly around his hips, clothed just under his toned 'v'. His hair was wet and glistening, forming itself at the moment into its perfectly styled position at the very moment, and he was brushing his teeth in quick movements. She disregarded, or at least _tried _to, his undeniable handsome appearance. And failed.

"Uh, yeah, thanks." She slid into the bathroom with her clothes in her hand, the humidity from Jane's shower hitting her in the face like a brick. Oh, well, at least Jane used Axe and not some weird damn-that's-strong type of soap, so she could deal with the dense air, as long as it smelled good. She left the door open so he could finish with his teeth brushing, but closed the door to the separated section with the toilet to change.

She had chosen a plain gray t-shirt and black shorts lined with neon green, not really caring to call out to a specific sports-related team at the moment. After a few more cleanliness-related minutes at the sink, she walked back into the bedroom. Jane was there on the bed, atop the covers, wearing only black sweatpants over red boxers as he flicked aimlessly through the channels on the television. She fell into the bed, suddenly exhausted, and wrapped her arms around the fluffy pillow. It was probably filled with baby ostrich feathers or something, considering what hotel they were at.

"Tired?" Jane asked nonchalantly, stopping his reign of channel changing and shifting on the mattress, probably to face her.

"Gee," she began, turning her head to peek at him through her wavy hair. Yep, he was curved on his side. "What gave you that idea?"

"Well, seeing that you just-."

"Ugh," she griped, bowing her back to pop it and turn on her side toward him. "It's nearly 11, there should be a time limit on when you should stop talking."

"Hurtful."

"But true."

They stared at each other for a few moments, before Jane sighed and turned off the T.V. "Alright, fine, no more talking. Goodnight?"

She smiled in victory. "Yup. Goodnight, Jane."

"Mmhm," he murmured, switching off the lights above them. She tried to find his face in the darkness, any signs of sparkling blue eyes or glittering dew-ridden curls. But it was like he wasn't even _there. _Even his breathing was quiet.

"Hey, Jane?"

"Hypocrite," he muttered under his breath, but he managed to turn his tone politely curious. "Yes?"

Instead of answering, she scooted more onto his side of the large bed, something she would have expected him to do instead of her. But there she was, cautious, reaching out into the night for his bare skin. When she found it, she pressed her cheek against his neck, curling against him into a tight ball. She heard him sigh wistfully, carefully wrapping his arms around her frame as she foiled one of his supposed foolproof plans once again.

"What am I going to do with you?" He murmured, expecting her to complain when pulled back to gently kiss her on the forehead. But she was already asleep.

Soon, even he seemed to succumb to sleep as well.

**So, since I'm in the 'mood' now, I'll probably be working pretty hard on Hollywood Studios next chapter. Which means it'll most likely come in sooner than this one did. Please, review! You don't even have to sign up on her to review! Also, I really really LOVE it when people fav this story! So yeah, hint hint.**


	7. You've Got a Friend in Me

**Okay. I lied in the last chapter. This one isn't sooner at all, huh? What has it been, more than a year since I've updated? To be honest, I haven't really watched, well, any of the new season. I like this one better, less angst. Again, sorry for the wait. No promises on another chapter after this anytime soon, lets just see where it goes from here.**

**BIG AUTHORS NOTE AT THE BOTTOM! Mostly about me, but there is something for y'all in there somewhere! **

**What are you doing, still reading? Get down to the story that took a YEAR to write.**

**;)**

7

"_Teresa."_

Huh? Lisbon squirmed, closing her eyes tighter and covering her eyes with the thin sheet. Her body, just now accustomed to the time zone of Florida, was telling her that it was too damn early. Another hand nudged her shoulder, and she remembered that she was in the same bed as Jane. Waking up too early was inevitable.

"Wha…?" Lisbon groaned, only turning her torso slightly to acknowledge him, keeping her head buried under the blankets. His hand reached over to the side of her face nearest to the bed, and gently turned it upward. Her eyes refused to open, and she tried to smack his away weakly. "Too… early…"

A sigh, and the mattress shifted on either side of her. She mutedly felt her wrists gently restrained on the pillow beside her head, and in the blink of a metaphorical eye there were warm lips on top of her own.

It had the same effect as having cold water thrown onto her, along with the side effects of painful heart throbs. Her eyes opened wide, blindly into the dark, and she caught a glimpse of his familiar playful eyes. Damnit, she _really _didn't want to start off the day with Patrick Jane kissing her, no matter how enjoyable it was. She jerked her knee upward in a thrust, while breaking away from his hold and shoving him off from his chest at the same time.

It was _very _effective.

He seemed to have wanted to groan out loud, but his voice pitched an octave higher, so all that came out was a squeak. It was too dark to see the expression on his face, which gave her a thought; why the hell did he wake her up if the _sun_ wasn't even up? She felt the smug satisfaction when she was able to sit up and turn on the lamp, finally superior to him once again, but the irritation from being woken up overruled it by far. He was on the other side of the bed, back curled over into the fetal position to protect his… family jewels.

She sighed airily, propping her body on her elbow and running a hand through her slight bedhead. "Jane, why the hell did you wake me up this early?"

It took him a moment. "To show you the damn sunrise, Satan."

"You're an atheist, you don't _believe _in Satan."

He turned himself so his back was to the sky, still somewhat curled. "After feeling the pain you've caused me, I'm thinking of converting to a religion that has some sort of beautiful seductress that, in the end, ultimately kills you. I could relate to that very easily, to be honest. I would pray every day, and…"

She kicked off the covers, arching her back to pop it before sliding off the bed. "You're rambling, which means you're fine. So stop being annoying."

"I _know _I'm fine. At least aim your swings of anger a little _higher_." He paused once more for effect, and then rolled off the bed onto his feet. She just noticed that, in his eyes, he was also very tired. Why wake her up? He needed the sleep.

"So, you said you wanted to show me the sunrise, right?" He nodded, and she crossed over the floor, peeking behind the blackout curtains. Yep, it was still a musty purple outside, the savannah below them nearly nonexistent. Even the moon went back to sleep. Why couldn't she?

Oh, she could. "Well, Jane, I know what a sunrise looks like. Hell, I could draw one right now if I had a box of crayons. So, without further adieu, I'm going back to sleep."

And with that, she walked swiftly back to the bed and plopped down on it, sinking into her soft pillow with no regrets.

"It's 6:30 in the morning, Lisbon. The park opens at 8, and I wanted to eat breakfast there at a nice pastry shop there. So we should start getting a move on before it gets too crowded." His tone was factual, but she wasn't really listening to about half of it. So, therefore, it didn't matter.

"Mmhm, that's great." Nothing could get her out of bed. Okay, maybe something. But she doubted that this breakfast shack even remotely had a pastry like-

"You know, they have _tres leches _there," he said nonchalantly, settling himself into the chair by the desk and spinning it around in a circle. "They also have coffee, but I figured that you would enjoy the cake more."

Lisbon paused for a moment, and then turned her head to peek at him. "_Tres leches_, you say?"

He nodded slightly, innocent. "I say."

She bit her lip slightly, trying to balance sleep and desire. _Tres leches _was her favorite pastry, ultimately. It's originally from Latin America, and the cake itself is soaked in three types of milk, placed in caramel, covered in creamy buttermilk spread and topped with a berry. She's only ever had three times, once in Jane's presence. So, of course he would have known that it was her favorite. And with coffee…

"I'm up," she groaned, literally falling out of bed and using the nightstand as support to get back up again. Jane watched her with playful eyes.

"You know, I'm genuinely hurt that it has to take cake to get you out of bed. I even _kissed _you, for goodness sake!"

"Yeah, yeah, don't remind me." She stretched once more, scratching her head and heading over to her drawers. Jane halted her with his words.

"For Hollywood Studios, clothing should be a step up, matching with the 'red carpet' feel. I got you something; just look in the bathroom."

"You got me something? Isn't that a bit too much?"

He shrugged, not even the slightest embarrassed. "I got everyone in the team clothing to wear, too, so they'll feel the same way." His voice grew softer, but still amused. "Go ahead; try it."

She sighed, and headed to the bathroom. Hanging on the shower bar was the most… indescribable thing she's seen. The main outfit was normal; black shorts, slightly ragged at the edges with a loose black-and-white striped tank. But, _Superman _had a big part in the outfit, too. Superman flat-billed hat, shoes, and a belt buckle. Sure, she read DC a lot when she was a kid, and _Superman _outlined a big part of making her a '(Wo)Man of Steel', but how did Jane kn… Oh, yeah, that's right; it was Jane, of _course _he knew. His voice appeared just outside the door.

"I know you're surprised now, but the whole team has to wear something similar. Including myself. I can help you, if you'd…"

She chucked a bar of soap at the door.

"Hey! … Alright, alright, I can take a hint." She heard him plop into a rolling chair just yards away, by the T.V. She sighed, retrieving the soap and plopping it back into the sink. She looked back to the clothes with a grimace.

When she walked out, Jane stopped flipping through channels and looked at her with an appreciative eye. "That suits you, Lisbon. Very nice. I'll get the team up in a moment."

She ignored his words and squinted at the T.V. through any remaining sleep in her eyes.

"Since when does _Castle _come on this early?"

He looked up and the screen, and shrugged. "It's the summer, so all of the usual schedules are on shuffle until autumn." He stretched widely with a yawn, relaxing back into the chair with his hands folded on his flat, bare stomach.

Lisbon took off her hat, shoving it over his curls and swatting it down over his eyes playfully. "Put a shirt on."

He swiveled the chair around to face her and cock his head back, the hat dropping to the ground. He only paused for a moment to straighten her belt buckle to broadly stand out over her shirt, his blue eyes nonchalantly avoiding hers. "I don't know why it bothers you so much."

She rolled her eyes. "Jane, you pretty much know everything. So, that's just an outright lie."

He stretched his arms out again. "It was easier than admitting the real reason, which you would just get angry about."

"Oh yeah? And what is that?"

He straightened out the elastic waistband on his sweatpants lazily, brushing his thumb over his defined 'v'. "Because you find me… what do they say? Oh, yeah. _Hot."_

She was taken aback slightly, but not exactly from his intent. "Of course you're attractive. Is there a reason I shouldn't think so?"

He laid his head back on the chair to look at her upside-down, his eyes calculative. "You've chosen not to lie to me. That's good. To be fair, you expel an appearance that is more that attractive." He spun around to face her again, face calm, and he raised a hand to lay it heavily on her hip. He hummed deep from within his chest. "I can wake them up in a few minutes. What do you suppose we do, _beautiful? _Take in mind that we can't be too loud; Rigsby has a case of the early bird and is in the living room watching T.V. as we speak."

She swore incoherently and glared at him, but nevertheless didn't move away. "Well, I don't know about you, but _I'm _going to go join Rigsby, and be free from you and your perverted thoughts."

He sighed loudly. "Hmm… Fine, I'll join you."

"Not without a shirt, you aren't. Do you want him to think that we're… ugh…"

"Lovers?" He asked.

"Yeah, that." She leaned away from him to open his drawer, pulling out a gray shirt and leaning back to slide it over his head in finality.

He gave her an amused smile, but straightened it down his chest nonetheless. "Alright, I suppose. We don't need him to suspect the truth."

She playfully shoved him, and in return he nudged her back. A slightly more physical banter, but still the same one from back home.

"Oh, hey guys," Rigsby said, looking up from the plush sofa as they descended from their room. He furrowed his eyes at Lisbon. Well, more specifically, her clothes. "That's… interesting. Were we supposed to get dressed early?"

She took note of her appearance, and she shook her head quickly, cheeks flushing with embarrassment at the outfit. This trip was starting to lower her defenses, letting her wild side make an appearance. And she didn't know how she felt about that. "No, but in about 5 minutes we were gonna wake you all up to eat breakfast at Hollywood Studios. So I figured that I might as well get ready early, so I won't make us late."

Rigsby nodded, stretching widely in his outfit of a plaid pajama bottom and his plain white t-shirt. Despite being so big, Lisbon thought, he was really adorable; he reminded her so much of her brothers that it almost hurt. She chose to sit next to him, and Jane sat in the armchair across the room to the right, in front of the sliding doors to the balcony. The sun was just starting to peak over the building across the savannah, and it sent bloody colors that dyed the grass and the leaping antelope.

"Pretty," Rigsby murmured, turning his face away from the news to look out the window. Lisbon thought that the colors _were _quite beautiful, like someone up there took paint and splayed it across the landscape. After a few moments of silence, she crossed her legs on the sofa, and her stomach rumbled. Jane, of course, somehow managed to hear it, despite being across the room.

"Yeah, I'm hungry too," Jane said, stretching one last time and popping his toes. "In about ten minutes we can wake Grace and Cho up. Whenever they're ready, we can leave."

"Hey, I'll go ahead and wake them up right now," Rigsby said, jumping up and running a hand over his hair to keep it down. "The faster, the better, I guess."

"I laid out outfits for you all to wear; they're hung up in the closet."

"Really? Thanks." Well, he didn't ask questions much.

Jane chuckled as the man nearly jogged into the team's section of the hotel room. Lisbon got up, too, and walked over to where Jane was, leaning on the arm of his chair. He wrapped his arm around her waist, but didn't really try to pull her closer. "Yes?"

She shrugged, reaching up to tame her fringe with a yawn, a bit out of it. At this point in time, she was already used to Jane's rule of constant affection, and along with her tiredness, she really didn't care what he did at the moment, too. "What does Hollywood Studios look like? I don't know if you've already told us or not, because I've forgotten it anyway." In reality, she just wanted to pass the time without being too indulged in the conversation.

He closed his eyes for a moment, probably reviewing the map, and kept them closed as he spoke. "Well, it's not exactly a circle, like Magic Kingdom, so not really as organized. When you enter, the tallest thing seen is the Hollywood Tower of Terror, slightly to the right. Really, when you walk in, any way you go there is a good ride there. If you decide to go left after entering, you end up passing Echo Lake and to Star Tours, which is like riding a spaceship across different scenarios in Star Wars. So, that's a pretty good one.

"If you choose to go straight, you will see the Great Movie Ride, a very memorable tour, or you can veer slightly left while going straight and pass Commisionary Lane, to the Streets of America. The only thing really important there is Muppet Vision 3D, which is kind of like the Mickey's Philharmagic from yesterday. After passing that, if you take a sharp right you can enter Pixar Palace, and into the fun shooting game of Toy Story Mania." He yawned, and ran a hand through his hair, something he did while in deep thought. "Going back to the entrance, and if you take a right, you walk down the all-famous Sunset Boulavard. Walking down it, with food stands left and right, it's best to do at night, for the 'famous red carpet' feel. Straight ahead, the Tower of Terror. Before hitting the 'hotel', in a separate section to the left, Rock N' Rollercoaster. Which does go upside down, I might add.

"Lastly, at 10, Fantasmic! It's the most famous spectacular events in all of Disney World, more important than the Wishes fireworks we saw last night. It's held in a _huge _stadium, the seats themselves curled into a 'c' and probably more spacious than the set itself. It snakes right at Sunset Boulavard, past the Beauty and the Beast stage, and almost completely separated from the whole park."

Her ears perked up. "Beauty and the Beast stage?"

He stretched, removing his arm from her hips. "Well, yeah. We can see it, if you'd like. Judging by that wistful look in your eye, you definitely like."

She leaned her body slightly away from his chair, a defense mechanism. "Sue me."

He chuckled, a hearty sound, and shifted his position ever so slightly. "Hum… so you're the type of woman that places a man by his beauty within, personality and all of that. In a way, it makes sense, not that I'm an example." He was pretty proud of himself, it seemed. She sighed, looked out the window once more to the rising sun. Something caught her attention.

She reached a hand out to unlock the door and slowly slid it open. She looked back to smile at Jane.

"Look, there's a giraffe," she said to him with a point of her hand, stepping out onto the concrete to the fresh air of the savannah. She heard the slight creak of the chair, and felt him brush beside her.

"Reticulated giraffe, if I'm not mistaken," Jane said, lifting a finger to the exact spot on the savannah. What a silly question. Of course he wasn't mistaken. "Yes, yes, I forgot that they're your favorite."

She shrugged. "I had a giraffe stuffed animal when I was younger."

He leaned against the railing, letting the sun spill light over him. "Meh, I never really cared for stuffed animals. Too mundane, even when I was six."

"Weren't they prizes? At the carnival, I mean. Seeing all the kids happy around you, why didn't you ever take an interest in them?"

He rubbed his face, scrubbing the remaining sleep out of his eyes. "I was always five years older than I really was, Lisbon. Those type of things weren't really an issue to me."

She sighed. "If you say so."

"I do." He straightened his back, leaning down to peck her cheek and playfully slap her hat back over her eyes before walking down the concrete path, to the sliding door in their room. "Be right back."

When did he pick the hat back up? She never saw him with it... she didn't even bother to think about it, straightening the bill and turning to the sliding doors to the living room. A visitor was just walking in. The redheaded woman yawned, glancing at Lisbon with her tired hazel eyes. "Good morning, boss. Nice outfit. Jane, right?

She nodded with the hint of a grimace. "You'll have to wear something similar, along with Rigsby and Cho. I love _Superman, _but don't you think this looks kind of… Hipster?"

Van Pelt grinned. "Not really, but that's a pretty funny term for it." She yawned once more, scratching her head before looking at Lisbon once more. "Are we eating breakfast here?"

Lisbon shook her head. "When everyone's ready, we'll leave for Hollywood Studios and eat at a pastry shop there." She turned around, sliding her park admission and room card from the table beside the sofa into her pocket. "Hey, I'll be right back. I wanted to check out the gift shop downstairs."

"Okay, I'll tell Jane whenever you get down." She brushed passed her and plopped down on the plush cushions, letting out a wide yawn. "Ah, I'm so tired."

Lisbon chuckled, and slid out the door, calling out "See you in a few," before venturing down the hallway. She clicked the down button on the elevator when she got to it, and immediately her phone rang. She held it up to her ear without bothering to check whom it was.

"Jane, I'm only going to check out the-."

"Jane, huh?" A seductive voice commented on the other line. "Come on, Teresa, I think you and I have more _history, _if you catch my not-too-subtle drift."

She rolled her eyes, but was quite surprised nonetheless. "Hello, Walter."

"Hello, lover. I broke into your apartment, but you weren't there. I dearly hope that you aren't at another secret boyfriend's house, but I've been wrong before."

She clicked the button to the lobby, a smile on her face. "Oh, you're back? That's nice. And, no, nothing like that. Just on vacation."

"Who are you and what have you done with Teresa Lisbon."

She sighed. "I know, I know, but it was Jane's idea. Something to… unwind the team and such."

"Uh huh. So, where are you vacationing? Somewhere big, considering that you agreed to go."

"Oh, um…" Jane had told her not to tell Walter, and she wasn't about to have the tempermental blonde on her case once again. "I can't really tell you."

The elevator door opened, and she heard an almost feminine scoff. "That hurts, you know. It's like you just shattered my ego."

"Your ego is your wallet."

"Correction: it would be, if I weren't so filthy rich."

She quirked a smile, even though he couldn't see it, and walked under an arch to the lobby. "So, how was Europe? Anything special?"

"Just business fancy-shmancy stuff, nothing important. But I want to learn more about you. What's your favorite gem? Diamond? Sapphire?" She could hear him dramatically tapping his chin from there. "Oh, Emeralds! Those would just be lovely with your eyes."

She sighed, running her hand along a hoodie hanging by the outdoor entrance. "Well, glad to see you were checking up on me. I'll see you when I get back, okay?"

"Leaving so soon? Is that 'it's a small world' I hear in the background?"

She smiled knowingly. "Goodbye, Walter."

"You're in -!"

She flipped her phone shut, and dropped it in her pocket. She missed her work phone; it was thinner, had a full keyboard and everything. This one was just so _clunky. _She swept the large gift shop once more, but it was no fun looking at all the interesting things without anyone to marvel them with. Almost right on cue, the team appeared from the entrance.

Where to _begin _on their outfits?

First, it was van Pelt. She was totally _Hulk_'d; looking from the top-bottom, Lisbon had to hold in a laugh, even though the clothing _really _suited her body. She had on black converse folded over classically in the back, inside purple that matched her vibrant shorts. Above that, she had on a green tank top under a black top with rips throughout it, as if she'd tried to tear out of it. Her green hat matched her tank top, and it had Hulk's angry eyes on it, almost covering up her own. All-in-all, it was well suited with a hint of hilarity, Janes' classic style. She walked her way over to her boss.

"Isn't this cool? My dad _always _called me the Hulk!"

Lisbon eyed the calm and kind-hearted woman gingerly. "And why is that?"

"Well, I liked to scare of boys by yelling and stomping at them…"

"Thought they had cooties?"

"Yep."

This time, Lisbon laughed. "Alright. Now, who's coming in next?"

"Cho was right behind me…"

Her second-in-charge walked through the door, and Lisbon was shocked. He had on red Sperry's, matching his crimson shirt with the word 'Muggle' printed in old-timey-font white. _Harry Potter _was his going theme, it seemed. He had on solid black cargo shorts, some super-dark aviators covering his eyes, and, get this, a _wand _in his hand. A Rolex and small gold chain completed the look. He found the women and sulked over to them. Ah, he had the same reaction she had in the beginning. Granted, something of literature _did _suit him, in an odd way.

"I look silly."

Lisbon shook her head. "No, Cho… you look _good. _I like the wand; nice touch."

Some kid snickered at him, pointing at the wand. Lisbon and van Pelt looked at each other, hiding scoffs. In a hushed, Cho-like voice, but just loud enough for the kid to hear, he said, _"Avada Kadavra." _With the help of batteries, no doubt, the tip of it glowed bright and made a zipping noise when he flicked it.

And then, after the kid screamed his way out of the shop, Rigsby walked in. Or should he be called _Batman_? He had on black, slim jeans, and a bright yellow shirt with the _Batman _symbol over the chest. He had on black high-tops with a faded yellow bat on it, and a black and yellow _Batman _drawstring bag to match. The funniest part? On his right hand, tight to his skin and almost to his elbow, a black glove with leather spikes fit him nicely, like he forgot to take off all of his costume. He tightened that hand once, as if trying to get used to it, and then waved at the three, jogging over. It matched together well, no doubt, different than his usual clean-cut attire.

Lisbon reached up to ruffle his hair. "Hey, look, you're DC, like me! Except for _Marvel… _Make sure not to associate with _them." _Between van Pelts' mock laughs and Cho's half-hearted snickers, she heard his voice.

"What about me?"

She turned around, and found Jane standing just a few feet away. His outfit was probably the most casual, but still stood out in it's own way. He had on a navy, V-neck shirt with the Captain America shield on it with matching, plain nevy converse, and slim jeans the same as Rigsby's, only pure white. Red frames around black lenses covered his eyes, and he had the United States of America flag as an expensive-looking watch. So, yeah, he stood out as much as them.

And all they got were laughs and thumbs ups, not strange looks or whispers. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad Lisbon had imagined.

"Oh, hey Jane." She grinned, and he returned it slightly before reaching into his back pocket.

"I meant to give you something upstairs…"

"What is it?"

He pulled out something thin and black. "Why, you're _disguise, _of course! Every hero needs one."

He slipped on a pair of Clark Kent glasses on her nose, nicely fitting under her hat. He pretended to look around. "Where did Lisbon go?"

The team copied his movements, calling to her. Except for Cho, of course, with embarrassment bringing his usual wall up. She pushed Rigsby away playfully, and took off her hat to air off her head. "Thanks, Jane. Usually, Mondays suck for me, but today… This isn't half bad. It's pretty fun, in fact."

"I'm glad," Jane said, bumping his head to her forehead with a grin before chasing the team outside.

Everyone was just so _hyper _today.

And they haven't even had breakfast yet!

XXXXXXX

The bus ride was pretty standard, like the other day. Since it was early, everyone got a seat on the bus, because barely anyone was there to begin with. Not that it would've mattered, anyway. The ride to Hollywood Studios was shorter that to EPCOT, and _definitely _shorter than the ride to Magic Kingdom, especially with the constant, excited talking from everyone on the team. So, just as the giant golf ball had towered over them that Saturday, a tall withered building did the same as they neared the popular park, haunting their arrival. Or, at least, the park _would _be popular, if there were more people. But, Jane had pointed out that Hollywood Studios was one of the most popular parks there for adults, considering their two main thrill rides. And if Magic Kingdom was any example…

"Follow me!" Jane cawed like Peter Pan, weaving them through the scarce crowds. Whenever they left the greenery of the bus station, Lisbon was nearly blinded by the morning sun shining on a lake of water to her right, bordered in Hollywood palm trees. It was a Ferry Service, for people who drove there to park across the water. Overall, it was obvious that Disney was convenient, no matter what.

They all dived to the left, where the entrance was, and Jane appreciatively whistled at the site.

"Nice. Very nostalgic to my times in Hollywood, Disney did good." He ran a hand over the stringy bark of one of the many palm trees, and grinned back to Rigsby. "How much longer do you want me to stall the food, Rigs?"

"He's not the only one that's hungry," Cho replied.

"Yeah, I skipped my favorite cereal for this." Van Pelt seemed genuinely hurt.

"I want my cake," Lisbon grumbled.

"And you will get it, my dear," he said, sliding his card in for admission. "Starring Rolls Café, just between Hollywood and Sunset Boulevard. The things that they serve can be different every time. I know for a fact, though, that today they're serving _tres leches _today. And assorted éclairs. So I kind of want to get there, too."

After they were all admitted, Jane stopped with the whole stalling crap. Sure, they weren't running there, but he was getting straight to business. They cut across a jumble of ice cream and assorted carts, veering slightly to their right, parallel to the long-necked dinosaur on a sparkling pond to their far right.

They stumbled upon a quaint little shop, right in sight of a tall, looming building, Hollywood's Tower of Terror, in the ever-stormy-looking distance. But, no, not stormy in the 'it's going to rain' way. It was just dark and stormy-looking over there, right near the old, unsafe-looking hotel, if you could call it that. Lisbon rushed inside with a bit more fervor, right past the red umbrellas.

The place was modest, if anything. It reminded her very much of a hotel gift shop. The floors were neutrally carpeted, and treats were displayed in glass cases organized around the café. The smell of coffee and sweetener hit her as she walked through the door, the air conditioning nice and icy from being out in the morning heat.

Jane called her over to the case he was looking at. She spotted the _tres leches _easily. The cake was yellow and bubbly, lying in a pool of milky caramel and frosted with fluffy white buttermilk. A shiny blackberry rested on top of the square slice. Her mouth watered.

The team all picked out a variety of things, and went to go get drinks. About a minute later, there food was sprawled out on one of the tables up front, under on of the red umbrellas. Van Pelt had ordered, surprisingly, a bear claw with her treats, and was gnawing on it. Lisbon laughed internally and took a sip of her coffee.

"Well," Jane began, watching her with his trademark squinted eyes. "Try a piece."

"Don't rush me," she grumbled, though with a smile. She grabbed her plastic fork, shoveling the prongs into the corner of the cake, scooping it up. Jane took a bite of his éclair, casually glancing away. She swirled the severed piece in the caramel before scooping it up into her mouth.

Cool milk seeped onto her tongue, sugary icing coating her whole mouth. She sighed happily. Rigsby did the same; he'd gotten a few foreign sweets.

She quickly finished the small cake, tossing the blackberry at Cho when she caught his eye. He caught it in his mouth easily, a classic routine.

Everyone finished pretty quickly. Lisbon finished her last drop of coffee before throwing her trash away. They gathered at a corner at the front of the café, not exactly knowing what to do in the foreign land. Well, all except one.

"Alright," Jane began, taking in Hollywood Studio's wonders with his ocean-current eyes. Lisbon couldn't blame him. With her stomach full, and the magical music beginning to dribble in through the speakers, the colors seemed twice as bright. "I think a bit of The Great Movie Ride is in order to start the day. We can save Sunset Boulevard-," he tilted his head to the left, where the Tower was, "-for tonight."

"Movie Ride?" Rigsby asked, strolling along with Jane as they walked past another restaurant next to the pastry shop, taking a quick right towards a giant wizard hat, the one Mickey had in Fantasia. Behind it was a Asian-Styled building. "What movie?"

Jane snorted. "A lot of them. It's just a ride that goes through scenes from many movies, like you're actually in them. Enough to be counted as an Attraction, but not enough to be counted as a thrill ride."

Cho nodded, like, other than Jane, he was the only one that understood. Jane knew that he'd appreciate it; very classic movies were featured.

It didn't take long to reach the teal-ish attraction, its slicked obviously-Chinese roof pointed up to the sky. The entrance, underneath a burgundy mural of a dragon and between two burly statues, was wide and short. They walked to it between scarce palm trees.

Lisbon was wow'd whenever she entered. Really. The inside was like the outside; ropes separating invisible lines, the walls and lights the same shade of rust as the mural outside. She could hear music, the kind that they used in the older, black and white films; dramatic and bold. Jane cut them through the ropes, something the people waiting do whenever there aren't any people filling up between the ropes, and started heading to the source of the music.

To their left was a heavily-jeweled emerald dress in a glass case. The one from _Shakespeare in Love, _used for Queen Elizabeth the I, all in it's untouched peacock-y glory.

To her right, where more rows of vacant ropes stood, was another glass case. One of the Merry-Go-Round horses from Mary Poppins, scratched from age but in nice condition. It's grin was contagious.

"Wow, look at that dress!" Van Pelt sighed, glancing back at the jewel-encrusted clothing. "It's beautiful."

Lisbon nodded with her, and that was when they walked through the archway, the room where the music was.

The walls were covered in black-and-white movie posters, and to her left was a gigantic tarp, where the gigantic film made up of old movie clips and previews was being displayed. The room was dim, so the projection was the main source of light, other than the lit up floor-to-ceiling strips of bulby lights spaced out from each other.

"'The Searchers'," Cho said, reading the red logo that flashed across one of the previews. "Good movie."

"It really is," Jane laughed. "Very Wild West. I knew you had good taste, Cho."

"Okay," Lisbon began, cutting into their bromance. "What exactly is this ride? You were pretty vague on the description."

Jane pretended to think about it for a moment. "I'll let it surprise you. I can't be a walking Google; some of it you have to find out for yourself."

She sighed, but nodded. They looped around the ropes and bars until they got behind a small line of people, separated into a few sections behind closed doors, which would probably open when it was time for them to load. They watched the previews with mild interest, mostly awaiting the opening of the doors. And still marveling in the fact that they were in _freakin' Disney World. _

And then the doors opened to a room in front of them, old-time trumpets blaring fun music from ahead.

"Show time," Jane murmured, and Lisbon chuckled. He winked at her.

They walked through the doors, and were immediately grouped into one of the many different spaces that separated row from row. On the wall on the other side of where the car would be, behind palm trees and fake bushes, a dramatic painting of hills in front of a billowing sunset. White words laid on the center point of interest: "HollywoodLand."

Jane grabbed Lisbon's hand, turning the jumpy old-time music around them into something kind of romantic. She sighed.

"What?" She asked, a slight undertone of irritated.

"Oh, nothing," He said, letting a grin grow on his lips. "Nothing at all."

"You have stubble, you know." She pointed to the bronze-gold sandpaper on his cheeks and chin. He rolled his eyes.

"Don't I always? It's blonde; it's not like it's that noticeable anyway."

"I like stubble," she defended.

"Baby, I'd grow a beard for you." It was hilarious how easily he could slip into that accent, the one you hear people use all the time in old movies. Theatrical. It was the perfect setting, too.

"You'd look silly with a beard."

He nodded in approval, but added a shrug to the mix. "True, but I'd still do it, if you asked me to."

She sighed again, but this one was more airy, light as a cloud. He took that as an incentive to kiss her cheek. She didn't stop him.

Whenever the long, wide car pulled up, with multiple long rows of seats, the whole team fit into one, leaving space on the end. They were in the middle-front, about the third row, and had a good view of the conductor that climbed aboard whenever they were all settled in, right when the music was building up. The woman, dressed in a neutral cast-member looking ensemble, grabbed the microphone and cheerfully held it up to her lips. The music in the back was probably rigged to let her enter at just the right moment, making everything seem perfect. Classic Disney.

"Welcome aboard! Nice. I'd like to ask for everyone to please remain seated throughout the show, please keep your arms and hands inside the vehicle at all times, and, for the safety of our cast, we ask that you please refrain from using flash photography and external video lighting."

Jane, on the side all the way to the left since he was first to board on the row, leaned in to whisper something into Lisbon's ear. "You'll like this one."

She nodded as the woman began to speak again. "Now that we've taken care of business-," she swung an arm up to point at her chest- "Let's talk about me. My name's Ashton, and I'll be your guide into this magical journey of movies. It's the perfect job for me, because I love movies! Now, is everybody ready?"

And enthusiastic cheer waved through the vehicle, Lisbon included. Ashton smiled.

"Great. And now that the cameras are ready to roll, I'm ready when you are, C.V." She looked to a spot right above where their car will come out in the end of the show, behind the vehicle with a point of a finger. The guy who controlled the rides' operating function, Lisbon assumed. She held a thumbs up, probably copying his movements. With a few twists at the operating functions up front, and the yell of a director's 'ACTION!', the lights in the cinema-styled entrance in front of them blinked dramatically, and the car surged forward as more music started up again.

"And… we are rolling!"

Ashton made casual small talk with the first few rows off-mic as they slugged forward, a nice speed. Jane saw how much she loved her job and let himself relax. Rigsby widened his eyes.

"Where're we going?"

"Into the past, my friend," Jane called out with a grin. "Just go along with the ride."

Cho snorted. "Like we have a choice."

Finally, the car turned under the neon lights slightly, entering the attraction for real.

"Well, hello everyone, and welcome to The Great Movie Ride! Once again, my name is Ashton, and past the fabulous Hollywood sound stage above us, I'm about to take you on a tour into the world of movies! And, just between you and me, this isn't no ordinary tour. There'll be a few extra surprises thrown in here and there. But, in an extrodinary way, it'll be like you're _in the movies!" _ She grinned widely at the cars, emitting her cheers from the crowd. She nodded, satisfied.

As she spoke on, Jane wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "Now, isn't this exciting?"

It was her turn to roll her eyes. "Obviously."

It seems that this was going to be a reoccurance of Spaceship Earth the other day. As they passed, to the right, manaquin ladies in swimsuits stacked on top of each other into a pyramid behind a hazy screen, Jane whispered into her ear: "The 1930s musical, Footlight Parade." He was basically copying what Ashton was chatting on about, but in his own Jane way.

Next was, to the left, an automatron hooked onto a pole with fake rain shimmering around him, singing: "I'm Singing in the Rain." A very good automaton, at that. Jane whispered tidbits about each movie as they passed.

After that scene, they were surrounded by shadows, brooms laid on their shoulders, swinging back and forth on rooftops. A bit to the left was a woman in a pink gown with an umbrella held over her, and a more prominent man dirty and just chilling on the chimney. That's right, fanatics: Mary Poppins!

They passed under the brick roofs into a… ratchet part of town. The Ghetto, she assumed, as she's been there multiple times before for a case. Broken motel signs and rank buildings with flickering lights, sounds of glass crashing and people arguing in thick Italian accents, all in the dead of night.

Lisbon shivered. The 'Chim-chimney' music from the scene behind them made the place even more ominmous.

"This is where it gets good," Jane said, removing his arm so he could lean forward on his knees. He had that curious, mischievious look that Lisbon loved. His eyes traced the buildings.

"Hold onto your wallets and purses, folks. This doesn't look like a very good neighborhood. In fact, it looks a lot like the Underworld. The scene of such classic gangster films like the Public Enemy. Starring one of my favorite tough guys, James Cagney." The vehicle creeped to the right, underneath the premise of a building, but entering the same theme, just a different scene as she named off a bit about the movie. James Cagney, as an automaton, was moving in a corner against a door, classy in his tuxedo and thick accent. His – its – words were threatening.

"Aw, you dirty, double-crossing - open up in there, you hear me?"

We passed the door he was banging on, deeper into the concrete jungle. Or, more like the concrete Shark Week.

The ride stopped. In front of us was a broken-down door, above it a green light. Loud voices, or whispers they accented so we could hear them, echoed around us. Automatons slinked down below gasoline barrels. They had the same accents as Cagney, only more rough.

"Ah, ah, is it them?"

"Nah, just a bunch o' rubberneckin' tourists."

"Sorry for the delay, folks," Ashton began over the microphone, pointing to the door in front of us. Lisbon noticed the light had changed. "I don't want to run a red light, even if it's just a movie." She moved to replace the microphone back in its spot.

"Psst, hey, you."

A quiet, low voice slinked from the shadows, but loud enough for us to hear. Ashton feigned surprise, and held the mic back up to her lips. "You talkin' to me? Hey, _you talkin' to _me?" She giggled to the people in the cart. Some laughed at the movie-quote, others watched in wonder.

"No, sweetheart, 'm talkin' to da dame in da funny-lookin' outfit over dere. Yeah, I'm talkin' to you. Come 'ere."

"Uh, I'm not supposed to leave my vehicle…"

"I said _get over 'ere._" The well-dressed man stepped out into clear view, a pistol evident in his hand. A fedora shaded his face.

"Whatever you say, Mugsy," Ashton mused, hopping over the door to the cart and jogging up towards him.

Whenever she got close to the concrete stairs he was standing on, he looked at her curiously. "Hey, how'd you know my name anyway?"

"Oh, I've seen this movie before."

Suddenly, guns began to fire all around them, but Ashton was ducked behind a barrel, in the safe. "I could go for some popcorn!" She exclaimed. Before Lisbon even knew what was happening, though, Ashton had disappeared and Mugsy hopped over the door to the control panel, frantically jamming buttons. "Everybody sit tight."

He looked back up to the stoplight, the thing that made them stop in the first place, and chuckled darkly. "Runnin' a red lights against the law, and I never break the law! Watch this!" He raised his gun and shot, simultaneously popping the light. "No more red light!"

Someone called from him back on the set, and he yelled: "Sorry boys, I'm makin' my getaway! Give my reguards to the warden, suckers." He looked behind him, to a little boy staring at his gun, and snapped: "What're you lookin' at? Everybody mind your p's and q's, and maybe nobody'll get hoit."

As the vehicle slinked out, Jane leaned back with a childish smile. "I like this place."

Lisbon rolled her eyes. "I bet you do."

He narrowed his eyes thoughtfully. "What is that supposed to mean?"

"Shh."

They rolled into a Western town, the sun beating high on the wooden buildings and tumbleweeds. "Whoa, what's this? Where am I? New Joisey?"

A male announcer voice from the vehicle itself acted as an Ashton, revealing the movie. "And now, the Old West, and two of Hollywood's legendary stars: Clint Eastwood and John Wayne."

John Wayne was on a porch, smoking a cigarette and spouting something in a thick Texas accent. He reminded her strikingly of Eli. They ventured a bit further, and passed Clint Eastwood on a horse: "Well, that's a mighty tough territory you're headin' into, pilgrim. I'd think about turnin' back if I were you."

Mugsy ignored him, turning back to the mother of the former child he ranted at. "All right, now that we're in the clear, it's the perfect time for me to collect up all your value-ables. We'll start with the je-"

And suddenly, Lisbon found that they were in _another _gunfight, only this time it was with the sheriff and cowboys, not any more gangsters.

"Look at it this way, things can't get any woise," he commented as they were sliding through the barn doors right after, into a very eerie scene. Fog was billowing out of control panels, and it was deserted.

"OK, it's woise. I dunno about youse guys, but this is gettin' kinda creepy, what is dis?"

The male announcing voice was back. "This is _Alien_. You are with Sigourney Weaver aboard the spaceship Nostromo. Something has gone wrong. One by one, the crew has vanished, and somewhere in the ship, a terrifying creature waits to claim its next victim."

"Hey, Pal, I ain't no victim!"

Suddenly, alarms wailed all around them.

"Warning! Remain in your vehicle. The area you are entering is extremely dangerous. Proceed with caution."

A female voice came, but this time it was from the scene, not the ride. "Danger. The emergency destruct system is now activated. The ship will detonate in 10 minutes. The option to override the system will expire in T-Minus 5 minutes."

"Look out!" Mugsy yelled.

Fog erupted from overhead, and through it the Alien emerges, spitting slime (water) over it's victims, i/e the team. Lisbon and van Pelt yelped into the arms of their respective male counterparts, while Cho just sat there being Cho. All was silent as the Alien retreated.

But it wasn't like that for long. The same thing happened to the narrow side they were curving around, but thankfully it was on the right side of the vehicle, opposite of Lisbon. It was still frightening, though.

"There it is again! All right, I think that's enough creepy crawly things for one day right?"

The audience silently agreed.

They slid out of the murky ship, and into a dimmed cavern. Familiar music jolted from above. To the right was Indiana Jones and someone else, struggling to lift a tomb out of the Earth. To the left were dozens of snakes, slithering rigidly and hissing to attack. Jane was all the was to the left, so Lisbon hid behind his shoulder.

"Here, in 'Raiders of the Lost Ark,' amid a thousand deadly snakes, Indiana Jones unearths a great treasure. Will Harrison Ford escape with his discovery? And what will be your fate? Beware."

They rolled past that scene, but still in the relative location, and stopped in front of a large stone statue, a glowing jewel pulsing from the rock. A figure veiled in black stood next to it, guarding the bloody gem wordlessly. The ride announcer spoke again.

"The dust of three thousand years lies undisturbed in this ancient burial chamber. And on the chest of the great stone god, a priceless jewel!"

Mugsy licked his lips, rubbing his palms together while hungrily eyeing the ruby. "Wow! Get a load o' dat chunk of ice! Time for me to get back to woik. Don't none of yas move while I get the goods. I don't think they'd notice a few extra bodies around here, if ya know what I mean. Heheheh."

"But the jewel is guarded by a curse! And those who dare defy that curse ... must pay with their lives."

He ignored the man's words and jumped over the door, briskly jogging around the vehicle and up the rough stone steps. The veiled person held up a hand to the gangster. "Halt, unbeliever! Disturb the treasure of the gods, and you shall all pay with your lives."

Mugsy went for the jewel anyway, but it was too late. Smoke billowed out over the whole scene, and when it cleared... Ashton was there, fanning off the smoke with the cloak she had worn with a big smile. We all cheered, and she threw the clothe behind her, bowing slightly.

"See, I told you I was going for popcorn! That just goes to show you, anything can happen in the movies. Now let's get on with the show!"

XXXXXXX

"That was _awesome!" _Rigsby exclaimed, pumping his batman-clad fist as they exited the ride. The rest of the team mutually agreed, letting out a sigh as they walked out under the hot sun. After a brief moment of relapse, the team raised their eyes to look expectantly at Jane. He smiled at the dependency.

"It's hot out here. I think some under-the-sea action is in order, hmm?"

Lisbon let out a low whistle. "They have The Little Mermaid here, too? Nice."

He nodded towards the Chinese-style building they just walked out of, aiming his eyes over it. "Right behind there is Pixar Palace, Animation Courtyard, etcetera. The main two, Mermaid and Toy Story Mania (a ride you have to see before it can be explained), are usually crowded. Mainly the latter, because Mermaid is a show with designated times, but Toy Story Mania can get well up into the mid- to late-hundreds regarding wait times in minutes." He flashed a smile, along with his metallic gold card, the one that gave him permission to do whatever the hell he wanted in the park. "We're exclusive, though."

Van Pelt nodded slowly, her own card sticking up a tad from her back pocket. "So... Little Mermaid?"

Jane grabbed Lisbon's hand nonchalantly. The team just rolled their eyes with an inaudible scoff, and turned to walk around the big building. Lisbon laughed and, ripping off her fake glasses, she threw them on Jane's own face. His own sunglasses were stored in Rigsby's bag, as of entering The Great Movie Ride, so there was plenty of room for her frames on his nose. She jogged away, to catch up with the team.

He watched her leave. Cocking his head, he absentmindedly rubbed the smooth plastic of the legs, right next to his temple. He _tsk_ed under his breath. "You little minx," he murmured. And then, with a devilish smile, he ran a hand through his curls and followed after her.

Time to take the next step.

**Had to cut Hollywood Studios in half, 'cause holy chicago that was long. Well, this _is _long. Whatever, English. The language is confusing to be put simply.**

**So, what have you missed this past year in my life? Let's see... I turned 15 in November. Freshman, baby! Also, Marching Band. Made it to State this year in San Antonio (Texas), an amazing experience. I've been playing flute since 6th grade, so MARCHING along with playing at the SAME TIME was more than awesome. As crazy as it sounds, I'm waiting for August to come back for Summer Band! Basically, for a month before school starts, you are outside in the morning for 5 hours doing drills (IN TEXAS SUMMER HEAT) and learning marching sets. You have a 2-hour break, AND THEN you go back to work on the actual music, but inside and safe from the sun.**

**I'm not the most fit person. I'm overweight, but not obese, but most of my weight accounts for muscle. But I was born for running and doing sports (which I did until 5th grade consistently), I was just too lazy to do it. But yeah, band is my life now. The Mentalist? Haven't watched one episode this season. I'm still waiting for that kiss, though. **

**Something I am into now? KPOP. KOREAN MUSIC. OMGOMGOMG KPOP. And KDRAMAS. ANYTHING KOREAN REALLY. Blame my cousin for introducing it to me a year ago.**

**I think that's about it. Honestly, I don't know how long the next chapter will take. Another year? 2? It would be different if I still had patience for this season, constantly with The Mentalist on my mind. But, alas, no. Until some Season 5 Castle shit goes down, I have no reason to watch it. I might make the season finale, though, because it would be a good opportunity for a KISS. Pff. Yeah, right.**

**Anyway, here you go. Have any ideas on what should happen next chapter to conclude the Hollywood Studios saga? PM me your ideas! Or comment them. But PMing them will ensure that I'll get them. Also, it'll save me a good deal of thinking on my part, and get the chapter done faster. KEEP IN MIND, other than the next one we have a good four or five chapters left, so no wrapping up yet.**

**I love you all! Keep the reviews coming, it makes me feel warm and fuzzy inside, and yes, in the dirty way c:**

**Nah, jk. Te quiero, saranghae, and all the I love you's in the world!**

**See y'all around! ^^**


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